The Untold Story of Rose
by Faervel the Free
Summary: Takes place at the beginning of the Two Towers. Rose is an elf raised by humans. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli find her in a river and she decides to help find their friends. Later on, she makes the decision to accompany them throughout their journey. Will she learn to trust again? Will her spirit remain free, or will love trap it?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, just wanted to inform you that this is my first fanfiction EVER. I am always open to criticism and please don't hesitate to tell me I made a mistake. This story will be based off of the LOTR movies. I do change some things, but I hope you will like it nonetheless. I have most of this fanfic already finished, so updates should be rather fast. Enjoy :)**

Chapter 1

I sat in the river the entire night. By the time the sun started to rise, I had decided I would stay in the river and die in the river. I moved to the shallows and pulled my legs toward my naked body and set my head on top of my knees. My long dark brown hair covered my back and some strands fells forward over my knees. I never expected my life to end as a result of betrayal, yet here I was, sitting completely naked in a river leagues from my home and my family. They had probably already been fed some story of my death.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of men running and shouting. I did not dare look up. I prayed for them not to see me and continue on their way. That prayer went unanswered.

"Aragorn, there is something in the river! It appears to be a woman!"

"It is indeed a woman Legolas. Can you see if she still lives?"

"I can see her breathing, but she refuses to look up. Shall I go to her?"

I heard the sound of water splashing as someone began to wade into the river. I quickly raised my head. I was surprised at the sight before my eyes. A dark-haired man, a golden-haired elf, and a panting dwarf lying on the ground. An elf. I had never seen one before besides myself. My parents had decided long ago they would raise me as their child instead of bringing me to an elf sanctuary.

The elf spoke when he saw me move. He had stopped proceeding towards me when I had moved. "My lady, who are you and why are you in the river? We will gladly offer you assistance."

I made no attempt to answer, only continued to glare as he began to move closer to me again.

"We mean you no harm, my lady. We can help you."

I no longer had the ability to trust, after what had happened last night. My consistent glaring was having no desired effect. I began to back away, willing the river to engulf me in its flow. I was beginning to float away when the human spoke.

"Legolas, she is not going to let you come to her while she is in this manner. Let us lay some clothes for her at the side of the river then we shall leave and fill our water skins further up the river."

The elf, apparently named Legolas, made his way out of the river and walked away with the man and the dwarf, who now seemed to be muttering in what I guessed to be dwarfish.

The clothes were lying on the bank. I was tempted to take them. I hated being naked, especially since the three people that had found me were all male.

I made the decision to put the clothes on. The shirt was rather big on me, but the pants fit better. I pulled some of my long dark brown hair over my shoulders and made sure my ears were covered. I usually had my hair in a braid that fell to the bottom of my back, but I had decided to attempt to hide myself from these people.

I looked around to see if I could see my village in the distance, but I had no idea which way to look. While I had floated awake in the river last night, I had promised myself never to return to my village if I survived the night.

"What is your name, my lady?" said a musical voice from behind me.

I turned and saw the three men had returned. I made no effort to reply, I just stared at them with my arms crossed.

This time the man spoke, "I can see in her eyes she will not speak to us. I am sure she has a good reason not to."

The dwarf spoke for the first time, only sounding slightly breathless, "Well then what do we do with her Aragorn?"

The man, Aragorn, seemed to think this over for a few minutes.

"My lady, you are welcome to accompany us. We are tracking some creatures that carry our friends. If you do not wish to, we will leave you here now." He turned and made a motion for Legolas and the dwarf to follow. They all began to run.

They were going to force me to decide. There was really only one thing I could do. I began to run after them.


	2. Chapter 2

**I totally forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Lord of the Rings characters or plot. I just own the characters I create.**

Chapter 2

As the day drew on, the heat from the sun only increased. I had not had any food or water since I had dined with my family the night before and even then I had not eaten much and had only had a sip of water. I could handle the growing hunger in my stomach, but the thirst was becoming more and more unbearable. Still I refused to speak. Black spots began to cloud my vision and dizziness overwhelmed my senses. I kept pushing my body forward towards the friends these men were searching for. Unfortunately, my body was in control that day and my own willpower was useless. I had reached the limit my body was willing to reach.

Everything went black. I could no longer feel. I could no longer seel. It could only be described as my body simply stopping in its continuous working.

Slowly, I began to feel life returning to my body. I heard my heartbeat. I could hear voices. It took a lot more effort to make sense of them in the state I was in.

"Aragorn, she is an elf."

"Oh wonderful, another elf, just what we need." Apparently the dwarf was not a fan of elves.

I could feel again. I could not feel the ground beneath me as I had expected, but an arm supporting me into a sitting position. Something was being held to my mouth. Water.

I opened my eyes. Spots of all different colors are what first met me. One color stayed: bright blue. I realized they were eyes. The elf, Legolas, was holding me.

As this registered in my brain, I jumped up and quickly backed away. A wave of dizziness crashed over me but I ignored it.

Aragorn spoke, "We will camp here to regain our strength. We will begin again when the heat of the sun passes. We are making progress."

I watched silently from a rock as they set up a hastily made camp. Legolas came up to me. I eyed him with distrust and he noticed.

"Why are you so frightened of me? I will not harm you, my lady." He took a step closer to me and I stood and took a step away from him.

Legolas sighed in frustration. Then he did something that surprised me. He drew a dagger from its sheath at his side. This made me take another step back.

"I do not know what has made you so unwilling to trust me, but I promise never to harm you. If I break my promise, I give you permission to kill me with this dagger." He held out the dagger, handle first, towards me.

I stared at the dagger for a few seconds, trying to decide what to make of it, and then looked up at his beautiful face. Pretending like the thought that his face was beautiful had not crossed my mind, I took a step forward. I reached out my hand and quickly took the dagger from his hand. His gaze never left my face.

"I am Legolas of Mirkwood, the man is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and the dwarf is Gimli, son of Gloin. Come eat."

I reluctantly followed him and we sat around the small fire and had a meal of some Elvin bread and dried meat I didn't dare touch. I had never had a piece of meat in my life and I certainly was not about to start. Legolas said he would watch the horizon for he was not tired. He handed me his cloak and told me to get some rest. Believe it or not, I fell into a comfortable sleep.

**Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please review. If you didn't, don't be afraid to let me know why. The story starts off a little slow, but don't worry, it will pick up.**

**-Faervel**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much to everyone that followed/reviewed this story.**

**Glory Bee- You were my first review! Thank you so much**

**miss-rayn- no worries. Many of your questions will hopefully be answered this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, any of its characters or plot. I just own the characters I create.  
**

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Chapter 3

I was shaken awake when the sun began its decline across the sky. After the fire was smothered and the equipment put back into packs we were on our way again.

I could easily keep up with them now. I had raced with other children in my village practically every day and I had always won. My mother had told me it was my elf abilities, but I had never wanted to be an elf. It took the people of my village many years to accept me as an elf that was to be raised by humans.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when the dwarf, Gimli, fell into the stream we had been crossing. He had fallen face first and the amount of armor he was wearing was preventing him from standing back up. I could not help myself: I started laughing.

Legolas, who had been trying to help Gimli get up despite his protests that he did not need help from an elf, looked up at me with a surprised look spread across his face. This was the first sound I had made around them.

Soon everyone was laughing, not including Gimli. He was shouting every curse he knew at us. I then surprised everyone even further, including myself. I knelt down next to the dwarf with a smile on my face and spoke: "Sometimes, Gimli, we require help from those we do not like." I held out my hand to him. He tried to form words, but seemed too shocked and just took my hand and let me help him up. After he was standing again, I continued walking across the stream pretending like I could not see the surprised looks on all three of the men's faces.

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The sound of men coming rapidly towards us on horseback forced us to take cover behind some rocks. As they passed us, Aragorn stepped out from behind the rocks and motioned for us to follow. He believed them to be no threat.

Aragorn yelled to them, "Riders of Rohan, what news from the mark?"

All the riders turned, completely surrounded us, and lowered their spears to point directly towards us. Good job Aragorn.

A man on horseback broke through the circle and addressed us. "What business do two elves, a man, and a dwarf have here?"

I hid behind Legolas. I knew this man and he knew me.

Éomer.

I closed my eyes, hoping they would leave before I was recognized. I heard Éomer threaten Gimli and was surprised by Legolas's reaction. He aimed an arrow quickly at Éomer.

"You would die before your stroke fell!"

I put a hand on his shoulder as a sign to put his weapon down. He turned and looked at me, then slowly put his bow down. Everyone was looking at me. I was caught.

"You!" was Éomer's remark when his eyes recognized me.

I met his eyes, smiled, and said," Indeed. Me. That is who I am."

"Why are you traveling with these men?! Why are you not at home? What in all of Middle-Earth are you wearing?!"

I turned slightly to look at Aragorn. I did not feel like explaining.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Gloin, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm. We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your king."

Éomer dismounted, removed his helmet and had his company lower their spears, and said, "Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe, not even his own kin. Saruman has poisoned his mind and claimed lordship over these lands. These men with me are loyal to Rohan, and for that, we are banished."

I looked at the ground and became lost in thought. Éomer was going to insist upon me returning to my village. He would not let me continue on this adventure. I did not want to go home, not yet. I had always been looking for an adventure back in my village, and now I had one. I began listening again when I heard Éomer say, "The Uruks are destroyed, we slaughtered them last night. We left none alive. I am sorry. May these horses lead you to better fortune." Two more horses broke through the circle, one gray and one dark brown. "As for you," he said, turning to me, "You must return home, my lady."

I raised my head and strongly said, "No. I am no longer welcomed there, nor am I expected."

Éomer gave me a confused look, but I offered no more knowledge. He simply nodded. He had other things to worry about. He mounted, put his helmet back on, and directed his followers north. He did not put up the fight I had expected him to.

As soon as they were gone, Aragorn opened his mouth to speak to me, but I held up my hand.

"Let us look for your friends." He nodded and nothing more was said.

I rode on Hasufel, the dark brown horse, behind Aragorn. Legolas and Gimli were on the gray, Arod.

When we reached the burning carcasses, the men despaired believing they had failed their friends. I had not known these friends, but I still felt upset at the thought of them being lost forever. I sat down next to Legolas with my head in my hands. Legolas began saying a prayer in what I believed to be Sindarin. I raised my head when I heard Aragorn speak. "A hobbit lay here, and the other here. They crawled, their hands were bound." He was following tracks that were invisible to me. I was following behind him now, trying to see what he could. "Their bonds were cut; they ran over here, they were followed. The tracks lead away from the battle!" His voice was growing from hope and excitement, but it fell again at his next words, "Into Fangorn Forest."

The forest did indeed look intimidating, but if this was what it took to find their friends, I was willing to follow. They all seemed hesitant, so I took the first step into the forest. The men followed.

We trekked through the forest until it was obvious we needed a rest. Gimli was panting from the uneven ground and the effort it took to avoid the various roots. Aragorn looked for a quick meal in his pack while Gimli sat down to catch his breath. I sat down a little ways away from them, took out the dagger Legolas had given me, and admired it. It was a simple and truly beautiful dagger, not to mention deadly. I felt Legolas sit down next to me. After a few minutes of silence, I spoke.

"Ask."

"What do you want me to ask, my lady?"

"I can feel the questions burning inside all of you. Ask them."

He considered this for a minute, gathering his thoughts. "What is your name?"

I smiled. "Rose. My parents found me when I was a baby in their garden in a rose bush."

"You were raised by humans, then?"

"Yes."

"Why were you in that river when we found you, Rose?"

My smile disappeared. "I was betrayed." I had been betrayed by the man I had thought I loved. We rode to that river together. His friends were there waiting for us. They took my clothes and left when they heard the howl of approaching wolves. I ran into the river because I knew they would not be able to reach me there, wolves hate running water. They had stared at me from the riverbank until they decided to hunt more accessible prey.

I offered none of this information to Legolas, and he did not ask. After another silence, he spoke again.

"Why did you come with us?"

I sighed. "I could not return home. The one who betrayed me would be there. I am sure my parents have been fed some false story about my "accidental" death. They all think I am dead."

He nodded in agreement, but changed the subject. "How do you know Éomer?"

I sighed again. "He wanted to court me and I refused. That was the first time I saw him since I denied him."

"Forgive me if this is too bold, my lady, but why did you refuse him?"

I laughed a little at that question. "I refused him because I wanted to refuse. My mother came up with another name for me when I was young: Spirit. I am a wild, free, spirit."

A faint smile lit up his face, making him look even more beautiful and magical.

"You should return to your village." My opinion of him drastically changed at that statement. I stood up and gave him a hard look.

"I am not ready to, not yet. If this journey I am taking with you three leads me to battle and death, then I die. My family already believes I am dead. And besides, I can tell you all need me."

Legolas smiled a genuine smile. "And why do we need you, my lady?"

I smiled back, pulled out the dagger he gave me and said, "The three of you could use some spirit," I threw the dagger, and it landed right next to Legolas's hand resting on the floor of the forest. "And I need to keep you alive so if you betray me, I am the one to kill you."

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**You get to see a little more of Rose's personality this chapter. This one was also a lot longer than the past two chapters. I hope you liked it. :)**

**-Faervel**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much to all of the people that reviewed/followed/favorited my story. I get really excited everytime I see that I have a new email! This chapter is a little short, but I am updating everyday at the moment so hopefully tomorrow's chapter will make up for this one!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or plot except for the things I create  
**

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Chapter 4

After a quick meal, we continued on our way through the forest. Suddenly, Legolas stopped walking. He was listening. I listened too. Legolas and Aragorn began talking, but I had heard it. The trees were talking to each other.

Something was stirring inside of me. Whatever it was, it enabled me to understand the trees. They were talking of the white wizard. Legolas caught on soon after me, but he could not understand them like I suddenly could.

There was a flash of white light. Legolas shot an arrow, Gimli threw his axe, but I shouted, "Stop! He will not hurt us!" No one seemed to pay me much attention until the white light dulled and an old man in white robes was discernible. The wizard turned to me and said," What gave me away, child?"

"The trees. They said you were good. They said that you help, not destroy."

He smiled at me. "You have a bond with living things that goes unmatched, child."

He then turned to the others. It was decided that we ride to Rohan to release the spell put over the king.

The wizard, whose name was Gandalf the White, called his horse, Shadowfax. Shadowfax was absolutely beautiful. To everyone's surprise, including me, Shadowfax came up to me instead of Gandalf. He touched his soft nose to mine and I smiled. "You are a free spirit too." Shadowfax neighed in response and nodded his head. He then turned to Gandalf who mounted him. I was again to ride with Aragorn.

The welcoming we received when we entered Rohan was nonexistent. The people were suffering, that could be seen by just looking at their faces. When we had all dismounted and had climbed the steps to the palace, we were met by a group of guards. They insisted we leave out weapons outside.

When Gandalf's staff was questioned, he simply said," You would not part an old man from his walking stick?"

I smiled on the inside. When the guards allowed Gandalf to keep his staff, the first thought that crossed my mind was, '_You will end up regretting that._'

King Théoden looked dead. It was obvious he was cursed. No man could be in that state and be truly alive. His body was withered, his hair matted, and his eyes clouded over like he was blind.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see guards following our progress towards the throne. I could feel a fight coming and apparently Legolas could too. He came up beside me and whispered in a voice only I could hear, "Do not fight."

Let me tell you a fact about myself. I am a wild and free spirit, as you already know, and because of this, I am not good at following instructions.

When Gandalf revealed his true self, the guards attacked. Legolas stepped in front of me, but I ran around him as well as all the guards. They ignored me. They did not believe me to be a threat. So many mistakes were made that day.

The biggest guard, who just so happened to be attacking Legolas, became my target. I ran at his back, jumped, and wrapped my legs around his middle and my arm around his neck. I squeezed until he fell, knocked out from the lack of air. Legolas glared at me.

"I believe I told you not to fight!"

"You are welcome for saving your face," was my response.

He rolled his beautiful eyes and continued to glare at me.

"Do not take it personally, Legolas. I rarely listen to anyone."

He just continued to glare at me, even after King Théoden was released from his curse. Everyone followed the King outside as he chased a man with pale skin and black hair that I learned was named Grima Wormtongue out of his palace. Wormtongue had poisoned his mind for a long time; anyone would want revenge for that. Aragorn stopped him. I could not understand why. The greasy black-haired creature was absolutely disgusting.

My thoughts were changed when I heard the king ask, "Where is my son?" Judging by the faces of everyone when this was asked, his son was no longer in this world.

A beautiful golden-haired woman walked up to him and revealed the truth. Éowyn would become my closest and most beloved friend, but at the time I had no idea.

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**Again, I'm super sorry that it's so short. Chapter 5 will be a lot longer, I promise. Please review! **

**-Faervel :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**So here is chapter 5 as promised. Please review! :)**

**Disclaimer:I do not own Lord of the Rings in any way, just the characters I create**

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Chapter 5

The funeral for the heir to the throne of Rohan, Théodred, was full of crying. A beautiful blonde haired woman sang a song in honor of him, but towards the end of it she was crying too hard for the words to make much sense. Even though I had not known the man, I cried for him. I cried for the people that had known him and loved him. I cried for the kingdom that had suffered so much as of late. I cried because I had needed to. The funeral had brought back thoughts of my own family. Even though I had not showed it, I missed them with all my heart. I hoped they were all alive and well.

Everyone slowly left the funeral, excepting Gandalf, Aragorn, and King Théoden. I sat down at a table in the main hall of the palace with Gimli and Legolas. Nothing was said, and nothing needed to be said.

The blonde woman who had sung at the funeral came up to me.

"Excuse me my lady; I am Éowyn, niece to the king. I do not mean to offend you, but you look like you could use some, uh, attending too."

Legolas and Gimli began to laugh extremely hard at this. In fact, Gimli had fallen to the floor from laughing so hard. Before agreeing to follow Éowyn, I made sure to give them both a good hit to the shoulder. This had only resulted in them laughing harder.

"What is your name, my lady?"

"Rose."

"I will bring you to my room first, Lady Rose, so you can choose one of my dresses. Then I will lead you to your own room to bathe."

"Thank you, my lady. Your kindness is very much appreciated."

The dress I chose was light green with the sleeves cut at the elbow and then flowed to the ground. I chose it because it was light in weight and I would need that on my adventure.

While Éowyn was leading me to my own room, she said, "I wish I could travel like you. Elves are so lucky."

"I do not know much of elves. I was raised by humans. Legolas is the first elf I have ever seen besides myself. I shan't go into details on how we met. It is a long story I do not wish to tell."

"I would like to hear it sometime. For now, you may rest without worry."

"I thank you again, my lady."

She left me in my room. A maid had already prepared a bath and it was beginning to cool off. I slipped out of Aragorn's ill-fitting clothes and into the steaming water. I felt my body relax. I closed my eyes and imagined I was home again. My sister would be downstairs helping my mother cook whatever I had brought home from my day foraging in the forest. My father would bring home meat, I would bring home various plants and roots. While my mother and sister made dinner, I would wash away the parts of the forest that still clung to me.

I opened my eyes. An unfamiliar room lay before me. There was no noise of my mother and sister cooking, no noise of my father telling of the news he had heard that day, and the realization of how much I truly missed them finally hit me. All my barriers came crashing down and my spirit took a large amount of damage. I was breaking.

After a few moments of just crying, I managed to pull myself together. The water was cooling and I began to wash myself. I had a new family now, and I needed to be their spirit.

After I was done bathing, a maid came into the room and combed and braided my hair in a much more sophisticated braid than mine ever was. The maid also helped me into the dress Éowyn had given to me. I looked in the mirror. I looked like myself again. One thing was missing though. In my village, I was known for my smiles. I was happy and always smiling around everyone. As I looked at my face now, there was no smile for everyone to admire. I had grown thinner from my lack of appetite and the burden I was carrying of being separated from my family so long. My eyes were still as dark brown as ever but my hair had some lighter streaks in it from the sun.

When Éowyn came back for me, I hugged her. "Thank you Lady Éowyn. I feel myself again." When I released her, a genuine smile was on her face.

"You are most welcome, Lady Rose, but come, two children just arrived and they are starved. They carry some important news. I must attend to them and I cannot wait to see the looks on your companions faces when they see you."

Laughing, we walked back into the throne room.

We had both composed ourselves by the time we entered the throne room, but my composure was threatened when I saw the looks on Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn's faces.

Gimli had been eating, but his mouth was frozen in an open position, his hand poised in the air holding more food that was now forgotten.

Aragorn and Legolas had been discussing something but whatever it had been, it was no longer being discussed because they were both staring at me.

Still trying desperately to contain my laughter, I walked up to Gimli and said, "You will catch bugs if you keep your mouth open like that."

This seemed to bring him back to Middle Earth.

"I was eating! You're supposed to open your mouth when eating!"

I let out a little laughter at this.

Next I walked directly in between Aragorn and Legolas.

"What is being discussed? Or have you both forgotten?"

Legolas rolled his eyes and Aragorn cleared his throat.

"We were discussing your disobedience earlier when you were told not to fight. Legolas is angry still, but I must say I am quite impressed."

Legolas threw his hands up in exasperation as I laughed at his reaction.

"Aragorn, do not encourage her!"

"She knocked out a man much bigger than she, and the last I heard he is still unconscious. You would be lying if you said you were not impressed Legolas."

"I was not impressed. I am still not impressed." His voice was even and hard.

"Aragorn, do you sense a little jealousy? Because I believe that I might."

Aragorn shrugged, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

Gimli decided to speak up at this. "I can sense a little jealousy, my lady. Legolas was looking forward to knocking that guard out himself, and you ruined his fun!"

I laughed. I laughed even harder when Legolas moved across to the other side of the hall, scowling at me.

Our attention was then turned to the two children Éowyn was caring for. They had been eating silently while I had been talking with Aragorn and Legolas, but they now began to tell their story.

The little girl began and spoke in between mouthfuls of food, "Our village was attacked by these big ugly men. Our mama put us on our only horse and told us to go warn the king." At the end of this little speech, she began to cry. Her brother said nothing. He looked broken, but continued to eat. Éowyn tried to comfort the little girl, but to very little avail.

All eyes went to King Théoden. He held his head in his hands. He was having a horrible day. To wake up from a spell and realize all the damage caused by it would be painful, especially to a king. I felt extremely sorry for him, but he was a king, and a king has to be able to lead his people regardless of the consequences.

Éowyn motioned for me to come help her with the children. They were falling asleep while sitting at the table. She picked up the little girl who had stopped crying and was now fighting to stay conscious. I helped the boy stand up and lead him to the room Éowyn was planning on putting them in.

"They have suffered so much at such a young age."

I nodded in agreement. "It will strengthen them in adulthood, but I fear for now all it will do is give them nightmares."

"They will sleep in the same bed. If that does happen, they will be able to comfort one another. The bonds of family exceed all others"

We tucked them into a large bed together. They fell asleep instantly. I felt a feeling of sadness threatening to overwhelm me. I missed Lauralyne, my sister that loved everyone, with all my heart. I quickly shook away the feeling as we returned to the throne room.

"What did we miss?" Legolas ignored my question. Apparently he was still upset about the teasing of him that had occurred earlier. I forced myself not to roll my eyes at him.

Aragorn answered my question instead, "The king has decided to lead his people to Helm's Deep. It is a fortress that has withheld invaders through many wars and has never been breached. We leave at first light."

Well that did not sound like a terrible decision. "And what is your opinion of this choice?"

This time Legolas spoke, but he still refused to look at me. "He is going to lead his people into a corner from which there is no escape. If the walls are breached, all will be lost." The decision seemed less grand after that enlightenment. Unfortunately, it would not be changed. The king had made up his mind, and we all had to follow. For now, I was going to work on Legolas's hatred of me. That would have to change. But how…

"Lady Éowyn, do you believe there is a spare horse I can use?"

"Yes of course, but why do you need one?"

"I would very much like to go for a ride. It seems all leisurely activities will not be allowed to occur in the next few weeks. Legolas, would you show me to the stables?" Plan activated.

Everyone looked surprised when I singled him out, but no one objected. I needed to talk to him alone and clear the air between us.

"Certainly, my lady."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed/followed/ favorited my story. This is another short one, sorry. :(**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any its characters or plot.  
**

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Chapter 6

As soon as we had stepped out of the palace, I spoke. "Please do not bother with formalities when it comes to me. I am Rose. That is all you need to call me."

I swear on my mother's garden he smiled.

When we reached the opening to the stables, I stopped. Legolas turned towards me and raised an eyebrow, questioning why I had asked him to lead me to the stables.

"You take things too seriously Legolas. I apologize for disobeying you, and then teasing you about it, but would it kill you to laugh once in a while?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. I do not want to take the risk."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I think Gimli was right. I think you are jealous, but of the reasoning to why, I do not know."

He offered no suggestions.

I huffed in annoyance. "Fine, be that way. But you have to accompany me on my ride now. I might run into something I cannot knock out."

Again, I swear he smiled.

The stable boy introduced me to a dapple grey horse named Amareth. I spoke to her for a couple minutes before mounting. Legolas was looking at me as if I had gone insane.

"I needed to introduce myself first. Have you any manners?"

Okay, he most definitely smiled that time.

I kicked Amareth to go and I heard Legolas do the same to Arod.

After we had left the gates of Edoras behind us, I slowed Amareth to a walk. Legolas brought up Arod right next to me. He finally decided to speak to me.

"You are not like any other elf I have met before."

"Why thank you."

"Most people might wonder whether or not that was a compliment. I am not sure I meant it as one."

I turned to look at him then said," Then I will reassure you that you did indeed mean that to be a compliment."

We stared at each other, unyieldingly, for what felt like minutes but were probably only seconds. He was the first to turn away. I stopped Amareth and dismounted. Legolas kept Arod going for a few more steps until he too stopped. I walked next to Arod and he looked down at me.

"You were the one that taught me that perhaps a life without trust is not a good idea. I will admit something to you. I believe I trust you. I will not have the one person that I trust despise me." I held out my hand. "Friends?"

He dismounted, pushed aside my hand, and hugged me. In my ear, he whispered, "Friends."

When he pulled back, we were both smiling.

"Shall we race back?"

"I will win."

I did not respond because I had already mounted Amareth and kicked her into a gallop.

Legolas did indeed win, but just so you all know the truth, I let him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed/followed/favorited my stories. It makes me so happy. :)**

**Special thanks to JasmineVsAngels- your reviews made my day!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings in any way, just the characters I create  
**

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Chapter 7

The next morning looked like the beginning of a beautiful day. There were no clouds, only blue sky and bright sun.

Amareth, whose previous owner had perished some time ago, became my horse. I walked next to her on the beginning of the journey to Helm's Deep. I allowed tired children to ride on her until they regained some strength.

Legolas scouted ahead most of the time. When he was not scouting, he was talking to Aragorn, and when he was not talking to Aragorn, he was riding next to me. We spoke very little, but neither of us was uncomfortable with the silences.

"When we reach Helm's Deep, I am going to ask a favor of you, Legolas."

"What is this favor?"

"You found me a bow in Rohan as well as a good sword, but I need some practice with the blade. In my village, I participated in many archery contests, but never any sword contests."

"When we reach Helm's Deep, I will see what I can do."

The child currently on Amareth's back cried out and asked to get down. After I had helped the child, I turned back to Legolas only to see him ahead of us, staring into the distant beyond.

No matter how much I tried to force myself, I could not look away. Every aspect of him made me want to stare at him forever.

I was interrupted from my obsessive staring when Éowyn came up to me and offered me some stew.

"I would love some Éowyn, but I do not eat meat."

"Oh, I am so sorry. I can find you some bread if you would like that instead."

"No, thank you. I am not very hungry and can wait until later to eat."

I then walked over to where Aragorn was sitting alone, inspecting his sword.

"I do not like this Aragorn."

"Do you mean walking or something else?"

"I do not like how exposed we currently are. If we are attacked, the outcome could be deadly for all of these people."

Before he could respond, Éowyn came up to Aragorn and offered him her stew. He gladly took some.

Unfortunately, Éowyn stayed to make sure that he ate it. When he took the first bite, anyone could clearly see that it was horrible.

"It's good," was all Aragorn managed to choke out.

"Really?" a smile lit up Éowyn's entire face.

Aragorn nodded his head, and Éowyn turned to leave. Aragorn began to dump the remaining stew onto the ground while I was holding back laughter, but Éowyn quickly turned again and stood in front of Aragorn again. He quickly stopped pouring the soup on the ground, resulting in a quiet laugh escaping from me that Éowyn did not hear.

"My uncle told me a strange thing. He said that you rode to war with Thengal, my grandfather, but he must be mistaken."

"King Théoden has a good memory. He was only a small child at the time."

Éowyn knelt down in front of Aragorn, inspecting his face, "Then you must be at least sixty." Aragorn shook his head. "Seventy?" Aragorn's expression showed that she was again wrong. "You cannot be eighty!"

"Eighty-seven." Aragorn revealed reluctantly. I myself was quite surprised, but I did not show it.

Éowyn stood up, looking at Aragorn in amazement. "You are one of the Dúnedain, blessed with long life." Aragorn nodded.

"There are few of us left."

"I am sorry. Please, eat." Éowyn was making it very hard for me to contain my laughter. I felt sympathy towards Aragorn as Éowyn watched him finish the stew. I hoped his life would not be shortened if the stew was poisoned.

That night it was decided we were too far away from Helm's Deep to continue on. I found it amazing how so many people could be so quiet. I sat next to Aragorn as he smoked his pipe.

"Aragorn, I hope you are aware of what Éowyn thinks of you."

"My heart belongs to another. That will not change."

I sat up straighter in interest. "Are you willing to speak of her?"

He stopped smoking for a minute and just stared at his pipe. Then he reached below his shirt and pulled out a beautiful necklace. "She is the daughter of Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. She should be sailing to the Undying Lands with her kin soon."

"What is her name?"

"Arwen."

"Must she leave?" I regretted this question because it seemed to cause Aragorn pain. "Forgive me. Forget I asked such a question." We fell into silence after that

I had asked Legolas earlier for his cloak. I had grown used to using his blanket and, with it; I had grown accustomed to the smell that always clung to it. I loved how it smelled; it soothed me into a peaceful state. It smelled of a forest that was overgrown and beautiful. I missed the small forest near my village I would go foraging in. I missed being in a forest. I missed my village. I missed my family.

I banished these thoughts as the night grew darker and more stars became visible. I curled up in Legolas's cloak and prayed for sleep to reach me before my feelings came pouring out in the form of tears. I had a new family now, but nothing could force me to forget the one I had left behind.

My prayer was answered that night and I fell into a light and dreamless sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you so much to everyone that followed/favorited this story and to the one person that reviewed the last chapter.:) **

**Disclaimer:I do not own Lord of the Rings in any way. I just own the characters I create.  
**

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Chapter 8

The next day was much like the one before. It was a beautiful day, but the sense of danger in the air was stronger. The vulnerability I had felt the day before had only increased. I kept glancing at the scouts ahead, looking for any warning signs that they had spotted some danger approaching. The scout I mainly looked at was Legolas, but that was only because I knew he had the most reliable senses. That was the only reason. No other reasons existed. None.

At one point when I was looking at him, I noticed his body tense. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and nocked it to his bow. He then disappeared over the hillside. Panic began to take over my own senses. The feeling of danger approaching had reached a peaking point. I knew something was wrong.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Aragorn came running down the hill and mounted his horse. I quickly mounted Amareth and followed after him. Aragorn shouted for me to go back, but I pretended like I could not hear him. I grabbed an arrow from my quiver and nocked it onto my bow. As soon as Amareth ran over the peak of the hill, I saw them: wargs with orcs mounted on them. I had never seen wargs before and had only seen dead orcs, but I had read about them. I read every book I could get my hands on, which was not many in my village.

I aimed and shot at the closest warg. The arrow went straight down its throat. It rolled and spun as it hit the ground, crushing its rider. After killing a few that had run towards me, I saw Legolas standing and shooting at every evil creature in range. I stopped Amareth directly behind him so he would not be ambushed from behind. Together, we made sure no monster touched us. We were a team.

I had missed holding a bow in my hand and aiming an arrow almost flawlessly. I had missed the excitement as my arrow hit its target. With this feeling also came the feeling of disgust. War was not glorious as many thought it to be. This was the first battle I had ever been in and I hated it. There was no glory to be found as men lay dying from disgusting wounds or from the wounds of the enemy.

When most of the wargs and orcs lay dead and only a few remained, Legolas mounted Amareth behind me.

"Look for Aragorn and Gimli."

He was rather close to me. Not that I was affected at all, of course. I kept my breathing normal. I am still not quite sure how I did that.

We found Gimli killing a warg that was severely wounded, but not yet dead. Aragorn was nowhere to be seen. The sound of a dying orc laughing caught our attention.

Legolas dismounted and demanded, "Where is he? What did you do with him?" I dismounted and stood next to Legolas as he interrogated the orc.

The dying orc laughed again causing black blood to spray onto me, Gimli, and especially Legolas who was closest to him.

"He took a little tumble off the cliff!" He began to laugh again.

"You lie!" Legolas shook him, but it was pointless. The orc was dead. Legolas was about to stand up, but I pointed at the orc's hand. It was clutching something. Legolas carefully removed the object: Aragorn's necklace from Arwen. What the orc had said was true. I rushed over to the side of the cliff, but there was nothing to be seen except rushing water. I felt Legolas come up beside me.

"He did not die. We will see him again."

"I do not think giving ourselves false hope is a good idea."

"I will prove it to you. If I survive this fall, Aragorn surely would have." I backed up a few steps and then began to run at the side of the cliff. You may ask, "What were you thinking?" or "Have you lost your mind?" The answer to the first question is that I could not imagine our company without Aragorn and my plan was to go and find him. The answer to the second question is a little insanity is not always a bad thing.

Just as I was about to jump, strong arms caught me around the waist and pulled me into a strong hug. The smell of the beautiful overgrown forest washed over me.

"You are brave, but I would not dare to allow you to do that. I cannot lose you too."

I wrapped my arms around him. This time, I whispered in his ear. "He is not dead. He will come to Helm's Deep."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Sometimes I just know."

We stood there at the edge of the cliff for quite a while. We only broke apart when King Théoden told us it was time to return to the women and children. We left the dead at his command. No one protested, but it was obvious many wanted to. We rode the rest of the way to Helm's Deep in silence.

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**Please review!**

**-Faervel**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much to everyone that followed/favorite/reviewed my story.**

**TheScarlettShadows- You are the first person that has given me criticism and I thank you for that. The reason her trust issues seem so rushed is that to me it seems more realistic. In the experiences I have had people that have trust issues end up trusting again much faster than anyone expects them too. It's because they want to trust even though they might have suffered some experience to support not trusting. I hope this clears things up a little and I'm sorry if you don't like the way it's written, but it's going to stay like that.**

**SamCarter121314- Thank you for your many reviews! And I'm glad my story is a 9/10. In my opinion that is good for my first story.**

**JasmineVsAngels- As always, your reviews make my day. Thank you. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings in any way. I only own the characters I create.  
**

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Chapter 9

When we arrived, Éowyn met us.

"So few, so few of you have returned."

King Théoden replied," Our people are safe. We have paid for it with many lives."

Gimli was the next to speak, "My lady…" he seemed unable to speak after those two words.

"Lord Aragorn, where is he?"

"He fell." I could hear Gimli's voice crack.

Éowyn's eyes began to fill with tears. I dismounted and gave my reins to Legolas. He needed some time alone and I knew he would take care of Amareth. I engulfed Éowyn in a hug. Eventually she led me back to her small room and she cried. She talked a little, and then began to cry again. I listened and hugged her and told her that there was still a chance Aragorn was alive because his body had not been found. This seemed to console her little, but she fell asleep nonetheless. She was exhausted from the day's events. I left her to find Legolas.

He was at the first place I looked: the stables. He was sitting on the floor looking at nothing. I sat down next to him. For a few moments we just sat there saying nothing. Nothing needed to be said. I laid my head on his shoulder and grabbed his hand, trying to comfort him. When I looked at him again silent tears were sliding down his face. I had never seen him show this much emotion. The sign of the tears spurred me into action.

"I will not tell you not to cry, but I will tell you again that Aragorn is not dead. He will come back. Look at me Legolas."

He reluctantly raised his breathtaking eyes to my dark brown. I put my hand on his cheek and wiped some tears away.

"I promise that he will come back, and if he does not and my promise is proved unfulfilled," I removed my hand from his cheek and grabbed the dagger at my side, "I will let you kill me, with this dagger."

The ghost of a smile played on his lips and he squeezed my hand.

"Keep it. I will not kill you even if your promise is proved unfulfilled."

"I am afraid I cannot say the same for your promise. I cannot live through anymore betrayal."

"I understand. You never did tell me how you were betrayed."

I leaned back against wall and sighed deeply. "That is because I did not want to tell you."

"In order to trust you must learn to tell stories you wish to forget."

I closed my eyes, willing the story I had been refusing to think about to return to me.

"I rode to the river the night before you found me with a man I thought I loved. He had told me earlier that day he loved me too. I was not thinking when I agreed to ride with him to the river. I was blinded by my feelings for him and I will never forgive myself for my own stupidity. His friends were all at the river waiting for us to arrive. The only motive I can think of them having is the contests I won in my village. They were jealous of my skill with a bow. They were planning on tormenting me and leaving me to die, but the wolves came and they ran back to my village. I ran into the river. The next morning I was discovered by a man, a dwarf, and an elf who I now consider to be family."

Legolas's voice was barely a whisper, "I am sorry."

I shook my head and opened my eyes. "It is over with. There is nothing that can be done to undo it. Even if there was, I am not sure I would. I am currently on an adventure I have been dreaming about my whole life."

Legolas stood up and held out a hand to help me do the same, "Come. I have a favor to fulfill. Go grab your sword and I will meet you in the training room."

At first, I had no idea what I was doing. Legolas went slow in showing me how to block attacks and after a while I began to catch on. He taught me the basics, but I was not completely ignorant of using a sword. My father had taught me a few attacks when I was younger, but I was learning from the beginning while Legolas was teaching me. By the time our long practice session was over I had quite a few cuts and scrapes. One cut on my arm was particularly bad and Legolas insisted on stitching it closed.

He poured hot water and some sort of alcohol into the cut to clean it. I clenched my jaw but said nothing, refusing to show weakness. He then proceeded to poke the needle into the cut. I slapped his hand.

"Legolas you did that on purpose!"

Laughing, he said, "I wanted to make sure you still had the ability to feel pain."

"You could have just asked! You did not need to stab me!"

"Calm down Rose. I am trying to concentrate. Do not move."

I rolled my eyes but stopped complaining while he began to sew. He was very gentle, like if he made a wrong move I would break. His hands were smooth and cool. I forced myself not to shiver.

When he was done sewing, he kissed the stitches and said, "All better."

My heart rate sped up, a shiver went up my arm and spine, and I actually stopped breathing. That is not my definition of "all better." I mentally cursed myself. We were friends. That is all we would ever be.

"Are you alright? Why are you not breathing?"

"Oh, yes yes I am fine. I am breathing. You must be blind." I got up and picked up my sword, starting to head back to my room.

Legolas decided he wanted to torture me some more, though. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug. "I am glad we found you in that river."

"So am I," was all I managed to say, in a slightly breathless voice. "Well I must go make sure Éowyn is well. She was quite upset earlier. Goodnight Legolas." I pulled back from the hug and he wished me a goodnight as well.

I did not go back to see Éowyn immediately. I roamed the halls of Helm's Deep cursing myself for reacting the way I did. I could not develop feelings like that again, not when the last incident was still fresh in my mind.

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**I'm sorry I didn't post this yesterday but it was homecoming at my school. I left in the morning and didn't come back home until after midnight. I was too tired to post another chapter, but here it is now! Please review!**

**-Faervel**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you so much to everyone that favorited/followed/reviewed! I hope this chapter will be loved by my faithful readers!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I only own the characters that I create.**

* * *

Chapter 10

I was woken to Éowyn gently shaking me. "Rose, you must get up and dressed. Someone is at the door for you."

I groaned. I have never been, and never will be, a morning person. In my village my mother would scold me for staying up so late at night, but I was never tired; only when the first sign of the sun rising appeared would be when I first felt the ache of tiredness.

Instead of getting dressed I grabbed my cloak and wrapped it around me to hide the very little amount of clothes that I wore when sleeping.

"Do not say I didn't tell you to get dressed." Éowyn laughed quietly to herself.

Naturally, I ignored her. When I opened the door, I wished I hadn't. Legolas was standing right in front of the door, and when he saw my appearance, he tried very hard at holding back his laughter.

"Éowyn, this is your entire fault. You did not warn me."

I heard her laughter fill our now shared room.

Legolas raised his eyebrows, "Warn you? Of what?"

"That the person who wanted to see me during the time that I sleep was the…" _elf I was falling in love with._ I hit my head against the wall. Éowyn started laughing again. Even though I had told her nothing about myself, I believe she knew my feelings at the time. I had known her too short a time to tell her my thoughts. I had not known Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli much longer, but we had survived together in the wilderness. That is something that strengthens bonds between people greatly.

Legolas was staring at me like I had lost my mind. "I do not understand. What were you going to call me?"

I closed my eyes and tried to think of a way to get myself out of this situation. "This is what happens when people expect me to think clearly while I am still asleep." Éowyn's laughter once again filled the room. "I have a good idea. Stay there." With that, I closed the door in his face and asked Éowyn to help me dress.

She was still laughing at me. Curse her.

The green dress she had lent me was now ruined due to orc blood from the battle, so I wore a light blue dress. I left my hair down and uncombed. I honestly had no desire to look presentable besides my clothing. That is the way I had always been.

After I was fully clothed, I opened the door again to see Legolas in the exact same position he had been in when I had closed it. I rolled my eyes. _Elves._

"Okay, now I am thinking a little more clearly. What did you need to talk to me about?"

He held out his arm and I took it. "I have something to show you."

We walked through the many stone halls of Helm's Deep silently. When we reached the room chosen to hold meetings, Legolas entered and I followed. Apparently something had to be discussed. I quickly found out what he needed to show me.

"Aragorn!"

I ran at the battered man and hugged him as tightly as I could. It was impossible not to love Aragorn. He was a born leader and the reason I was now a part of this adventure.

"How long have you been back?" I demanded.

"Since a little after dawn."

"And no one thought to come wake me as soon as you arrived?" I glared at Legolas who held up his hands like he was innocent.

"You were the one that said you could not think clearly when woken at this time. I would hate to see how you think at dawn."

"That was before an opportunity to prove I was right about something arrived at Helm's Deep."

Legolas rolled his eyes.

Aragorn asked, "Right about something?"

"I knew you would come back. Everyone else despaired," I shot a glare at Legolas, "But not me. It is so good to have you back." I hugged him again.

After this reunion, I discovered I had interrupted some war plans. A table was set up in the room with a map of Middle Earth on it. We all stood around it. I was in between Legolas and Aragorn. Aragorn had witnessed an army marching with thousands of orcs towards Helm's Deep. We needed to prepare as best we could to defend the people here.

"I will have every man sent to the armory to find a weapon. We will set up a patrol to watch for the army night and day. The door will be barricaded. Aragorn and Legolas, I want you to begin training the men at first light tomorrow. I want them to have the skill of a sword fresh in their minds when they go to battle." This was the King's command, and it was to be followed. While Aragorn went off to rally the men to find swords, Legolas and I went to the training room. I wanted one final lesson.

I had good instincts from being raised by a father that trained me to have them and from my elf abilities I had not wanted to believe I had. Legolas was still much better than I from many years of practice that I did not have, but I had caught on the rhythm of sword against sword combat. It would never be my weapon of choice, but it certainly was useful to know how to use one. Our lesson came to an end when I unintentionally cut Legolas across his forearm. I began apologizing nonstop when it happened, but Legolas only laughed.

"I have survived worse Rose. I will be fine."

"It looks deeper than the cut on my arm was."

"Yes, it needs to be sewn shut. I will do that now."

"Then I will help as best I can."

He did not need my help, but he did not object. I watched as he cleaned the cut and sewed it quickly closed.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little."

When he finished, he said, "Come. Now you must kiss it. I kissed your cut, so you must return the favor."

"I do not have to do anything." I kissed the cut anyway. I then put my hand on it and poked the new stitches. To my surprise, Legolas winced. I guess it hurt more than "a little."

"Why did you do that?"

"I recall you stabbed me with a needle. I was just returning that favor as well."

He began to laugh a genuine laugh.

"It is time for Aragorn and I to train the men. You must leave now."

I wandered around Helm's Deep for a while. I found Éowyn helping usher the women and children into the caves and I began to help her.

"This way please! You cannot bring all of your belongings, there isn't time."

I saw a young boy break away from his mother's side without her knowledge. I quickly picked him up and handed him back to his mother.

"Thank you, my lady. I did not even notice he had run off." The woman was tired and dirty looking. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. She had fresh tears leaking from her eyes.

As I turned away from her, I noticed this was no uncommon sight. Most of the women looked the exact same way.

This was not something I could handle. "Éowyn, I am going back to our room. I cannot handle the sight of so much sadness." She nodded and looked like she was about to say something, but was quickly distracted by the women and children rushing towards the caves. I disappeared silently and without anyone noticing. Instead of heading towards the room I slept in, I headed towards the stables. I needed a moment of peace.

Amareth looked unfazed by all the tension in the air. She raised her head when I walked into her range of hearing and neighed happily when I approached her.

"How is my beautiful girl doing?"

She neighed and bobbed her head in response.

"I am glad you are faring better than I am. All of this sadness is enough to spark my own. I feel torn. I should want to be safe in the caves, but I want to help fight. Maybe I can save a father or a son. Their lives will be missed much more than my own. Amareth tell me what to do."

Naturally, she said nothing and I hadn't expected her too. You may ask why I was talking to a horse, but as Gandalf had said, my bond with living things goes unmatched. In my experiences, something that cannot talk back can give the best of advice.

What would my family think of me? What would my sister Lauralyne think if she could see me now? Would she believe me to be a coward if I did not fight, or unwise if I did? She believed I was invincible, but she would still fear for my life.

As I looked at Amareth, she stared right back. I was the only one that could make the decision to fight or to hide. No living thing could make that decision for me. No living thing could tell me which path to choose, not this time. Ultimately, a person must choose which path they wish to tread on or which path they wish to create. Standing there in the stables with my horse standing in front of me silently awaiting my decision caused me to think all of these thoughts. I did what destiny was calling me to do: I made a choice.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to everyone who followed/favorite/ reviewed. Whenever I see an email in my inbox from fanfiction I get all happy and excited.**

**JasmineVsAngels- No, there will not be a love triangle. I am honestly not a big fan of love triangles and I have almost finished this story and I do not feel like rewriting it all. There seems to be some confusion: Rose was raised by humans, but that does not mean she is half human and half elf. This story is from her point of view, so the reader cannot know anything she doesn't know. Who her real parents were may never be known to her and in effect the reader will never know. Sometimes good stories leave a reader with a thousand questions that may never be answered, but that is the way some stories are. You are a faithful reviewer and I love that! Thanks! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I only own the characters I create.  
**

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Chapter 11

The ten-thousand orc army was in sight of Helm's Deep. The women and children were all safe in the caves. Well, all except for me.

"Please, let me fight! You know I am capable!" Legolas did not want me to fight, so the first battle of the night began: me versus him.

"Practicing for two days against me will not prepare you for war against ten-thousand orcs."

"I can fight, and you need every warrior you can get!"

"My answer will not change."

"Legolas, please!"

"Rose, go to the caves. There is still time."

"No. I will fight whether you allow me to or not."

"You do not understand Rose. War is no place for you. You are not prepared and if you were to die, Gimli, Aragorn and I would not be able to bare the guilt. You will go to the caves."

"I will not."

Legolas then decided that the only way I would end up in the caves would be by extreme force. He picked me up and began to carry me towards the entrance to the caves.

"Put me down right now!" I tried pinching him and slapping him, but that resulted in him only holding me tighter so I could not move as much.

After a few moments of him carrying me, Aragorn and Gimli came walking down the hall discussing what I guessed to be strategies.

"Well what have we here?" Aragorn said while smiling.

"Aragorn, tell him to put me down! I want to fight!"

"My apologies, but I agree with Legolas. You should go to the caves."

I glared at him. I would have to find a way to fight without any of their help.

"Alright, I will go to the caves. Put me down, I can walk there myself."

Legolas set me gently on the ground and I walked away without saying anything else. I did not look back as I started in the direction of the caves. Once I knew they could no longer see or hear me, I changed my direction towards the armory. I had no intention of hiding with the women and children.

When I entered the armory, it was full of men grabbing armor and putting it on. This was the perfect cover for me. I picked up some chainmail and a helmet and then exited. I put on the minimal armor in an empty hallway. My long brown hair that now held golden streaks to oppose the dark brown was all stuffed securely into my helmet. I slung my quiver on my back as well as my bow and strapped the sword Legolas had found for me as well as his dagger at my waist. These weapons hardly left me. They made me feel a little safer in these dark times.

As I returned to the armory, I heard a raised voice speaking in a different language. I closed my eyes as I tried to decipher the words. The rhythm reminded me of the language the trees spoke.

I opened my eyes. That had to be Legolas speaking. From what I had understood, he had lost hope. The returning voice was rougher, but spoke the same language. Legolas and Aragorn, the faithful friends that would follow each other to the end, were fighting.

I watched in silent anger as Legolas stormed out of the armory. Aragorn was just as angry, but he did not leave the men. They needed hope and Aragorn was most willing to provide it.

No one made a move to follow Legolas. The immediate anger I had felt at Legolas's words had not diminished, but grown. How dare he?! These men were going to fight to the death to try and protect their people against an army of thousands of orcs. What they needed was hope. They needed a motivational speech to raise their spirits. Legolas gave them the exact opposite.

I began to follow after Legolas when a deep voice said, "It would be best to leave him alone, lad." Gimli.

I turned to him so he could see my face and said with anger filling my voice, "I do not agree." I turned from his shocked face and left the armory to find Legolas.

After roaming down a few halls, I found him leaning against a wall with his eyes closed. I crossed my arms.

"That was not smart."

His eyes shot open at the sound of my voice.

"You should be in the caves."

"You should not have said that in the armory."

"We do not stand a chance!" Three-hundred against ten-thousand!"

"Then we will die fighting. A hero's death. It will do no one any good to simply give up."

He did not reply, but he stared at me with a conflicted look on his face.

"You should be in the caves," was what he finally decided on saying.

"I think it has become clear where I am needed, and it is not in the caves."

He sighed. "You are right. I should not have said what I did. I will apologize, but I will still not allow you to fight."

"I do not remember asking for your permission."

He put both of his hands on my shoulders and stared right into my eyes, "I do not remember giving you an option."

I smiled at his statement. We could battle each other like this to no end. I had finally found my match when it came to stubbornness.

"I will stay by your side the entire time. We will protect each other."

"Rose…"

"If I die, I die. Middle-Earth will not miss me. I would be remembered by those who knew me as a hero. There are worse ways to die."

He put a hand on my cheek. "You forget something. When you are immortal, it is harder to forget and move on. If you died, I could still be mourning a thousand years from now."

"I could still be angry at you a thousand years from now because you refused to let me fight."

He considered that for a moment. "I could live with that."

"But I could not!" I responded, my voice rising.

"I must go apologize to Aragorn. I will meet you here. During the battle, do not leave my side."

I nodded, a smile breaking out on my face. I had won.


	12. Chapter 12

**JasmineVsAngels- No, the story is not almost over. I have almost finished writing it but not posting it. At the moment I am working on chapter 20, but to tell you the truth I have not decided how to end this story. If you have any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. :)**

**SamCarter121314- thank you for your awesome reviews! They all made me smile. I'm glad you like it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, just the characters I create.  
**

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Chapter 12

I had never seen so many elves in my entire life. As the archers entered through the gates of Helm's Deep I could not help my staring. They were all so elegant and graceful looking. Hope was restored to many of the men at the sight of forgotten allies coming to their aid. Unfortunately, hope was not restored to all.

Legolas had apologized to Aragorn, but I knew he still believed we were going to die tonight. In my heart, I knew that we did not stand a chance, but I refused to accept this in my head. As a result of this refusal, I found myself standing on the wall of Helm's Deep between Gimli and Legolas. The army approaching grew bigger and bigger as it moved closer to the walls and I felt the little hope I had begun with leaving me. I did something scandalous, but since we were all expected to die tonight, I decided it did not matter. I grabbed Legolas's hand. To my surprise, he squeezed my hand back reassuringly.

My attention turned to Gimli as his grumbling became louder. He could not see over the wall. I held back a laugh but allowed a smile.

"Could've picked a better spot!" Gimli kept trying to stand on his toes to see the army, but despite his efforts he remained just a little too short.

Aragorn came over to the three of us, the stress of the fight to come already weighing on him.  
"Your friends are with you, Aragorn." Legolas tried to reassure him, but had little success.

"Let's hope they last the night." Gimli's words were less than helpful.

"There is still life in us. Nothing is final until the light leaves our eyes." Aragorn did not even pretend to listen to my words. He just stared at the enemy rapidly approaching and began to shout orders.

"What's happening out there?" The frustration in Gimli's voice had grown.

"Shall I describe it to you, or would you like me to find you a box?"

At Legolas's comment, I could no longer hold in my laughter. Gimli followed quickly after me, his laugh echoing everywhere. Legolas just gave a genuine smile and continued to hold my hand. This was friendship: the ability to laugh in the sight of death. When all seems hopeless, all it takes is one burst of friendship to make everything peaceful and happy again.

It had started to rain. I thanked whatever force had directed the rain in all of its terrible beauty towards us that night. I loved the rain. To this day, the rain remains one of my favorite abilities that nature has. In my village I had participated in two archery contests that had continued through the rain and I had shot the very centers of the targets. The rain clears my mind and allows me to focus on what must be accomplished. During this battle, I needed that more than anything else.

The orc army was now in range of the archers. They stopped and began banging their shields and roaring like the monsters they are. I heard a voice shout in elvish, but I could not understand. Legolas released my hand and grabbed an arrow. We had to ready ourselves to shoot. I grabbed an arrow from my own quiver and aimed at an orc's neck.

I heard more shouts in elvish, and then everything went silent. Someone had fired without the order to. An orc fell to the ground with an arrow sticking out of its body. Everyone stared, waiting for the first move.

The orcs charged towards the wall.

Legolas shot his arrow and quickly grabbed another. We fell into a rhythm together. Shoot, grab another arrow, shoot. Legolas and Gimli yelled at each other the number of kills they had. I rolled my eyes, but secretly I was counting too. I had seventeen, like Legolas, before the ladders came up.

I stayed by Legolas's side like I had promised, but he was making it very difficult. He never stayed in one place for very long so I had to follow him.

I had drawn my sword when the ladders had first come up and was fighting with it, but Legolas was very stubborn about using his bow. We fell into a different pattern. He would block attacks and I would deliver the killing blow. At one point he broke the pattern, picked up a fallen orc's sword, and yelled to me, "Get down!" I immediately fell to the ground the moment the words registered in my head and the rusty sword Legolas held went straight through the chest of an orc trying to attack from behind me.

What felt like hours went by. The number of kills I had was going into the thirties. Then I heard Aragorn shout, "Legolas kill it!" We both turned to see what he was speaking of. An orc was running towards the wall, a torch in hand. I turned and fought off the orcs coming to attack us to give Legolas the time he needed to shoot. When I glanced back, the orc had arrows protruding from its body, but it was not even close to stopping. Somewhere in my body and soul, an instinct emerged to run. I grabbed Legolas's arm and dragged him into a run. I heard a loud explosion from behind us and we both fell to ground as the wall shook in complaint. I somehow fell on top of Legolas, but I felt no embarrassment, only pain. A boulder from the now destroyed part of the wall landed on my lower back. I grunted in pain but all I wanted to do was scream. I managed to roll off of Legolas so he could stand. He held out an arm to help me up, and despite my stubborn nature, I took it. Pain course through my body from my lower back, but I ignored it. The adrenaline from battle helped to calm the pain.

I heard shouts of retreat and Legolas and I ran towards the last place we could regroup. The heavy wooden doors closed behind us. I looked around at the surviving soldiers. There were so few. We were all going to die.

Aragorn began inquiring about the women and children somehow being moved to safety, but I stopped listening. The pain in my back was becoming too much to handle while standing.

I became aware of what was happening again when I heard a horn: the horn of Helm's Deep and of all the men left defending it. Horses were being led into the room. We would ride out and die glorious deaths.

At this point I was ready to die. The pain in my back was growing steadily worse. I managed to stand up by gripping the wall and walked over to Amareth. I wrapped my arm around her head and whispered, "I hope you accompany me to the lands of the dead, my faithful companion."

_Mother, father, I miss you all and I am truly sorry you never got to find out the truth of my disappearance. I love you. Lauralyne, wherever you are, never forget the few skills I managed to teach you. I love you my dear sister._

These were my thoughts as I mounted Amareth. I thought about my forest and Lauralyne's smile. I thought about my father teaching me my first lesson with a wooden sword and his laughter when it slipped from my hand. I thought about how my mother always hummed a tune with no words as she cooked dinner.

The wooden doors fell off their hinges and orcs began to pour into the room, but we were there to meet them. We charged out, hacking at every orc in our reach. Instead of adrenaline keeping me upright, it was memories of the garden I had been found in. The earthy smell that never left the small house I had lived in. My sister's beautiful laughter.

We somehow made it outside the gates where the whole army stood waiting for us. The sun was rising, spreading its golden rays over the gruesome sight of war. This was the end.

A cry rang out from the direction of the rising sun. A white blur appeared followed by fresh warriors. Gandalf had returned. I watched in amazement as they charged directly into the orcs and never hesitated. As more and more orcs fell, the rest began to retreat.

I turned Amareth into the direction of Helm's Deep. I needed medical attention. It took every ounce of my willpower to not fall off of Amareth. My back was on fire with pain.

As soon as I was within the gates, I dismounted. Well, it looked more like me falling off, but I promised myself not to tell that to anyone.

I knew my way around Helm's Deep to three rooms: the one I shared with Éowyn, the armory, and the meeting room. I chose Éowyn's room. As soon as I reached it, I took off the little armor I had worn and changed into the shirt and pants Aragorn had given me the day I had been found in the river. I lay down on my stomach on my bed. The adrenaline was gone. I could feel the full extent of my injury.

I drifted in and out of consciousness, the pain never subsiding. At one point I heard voices, but for the life of me I could not process what was being said. I felt something being set on my back and I screamed. Whatever it was, it was quickly removed.

Pain, pain, and more pain.

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**I might not be able to update tomorrow. I have 2 quizzes and a test on Friday not including other homework. I also have a tennis match. I wanted to give all of my faithful readers a warning and I apologize, but academics are very important to me so they will always come first. This was probably my favorite chapter to write so far, I hoped you all liked it too! Please review!**

**-Faervel**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed/followed/favorited this story!**

**SamCarter121314-I'm glad you liked it! Regarding my match, I got to stand in the rain for two hours before it was decided the match was to be cancelled. It was awesome. I left out the scene with Legolas sliding down a shield kind of on purpose. I felt like it wouldn't add much to the story and everyone knows that scene and expects it. I'm trying to be unpredictable haha.**

**JasmineVsAngels-I am not that great at tennis, no worries. I am on junior varsity, but I love it nonetheless. I think that connecting to my readers is important because they are the people that keep me writing. Readers are why writers tend to write. Thank you for all of your reviews!  
**

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Chapter 13

When I became fully conscious again, I had no memory of what had happened and where I was. I tried to open my eyes, but they stubbornly refused. I tried to use my other senses instead. I was lying on my stomach on a bed. I tried to move any of my limbs, but they refused just as my eyes had. I used all of my willpower to turn over into a more comfortable position when a shooting pain went up my spine from my lower back. Why did my back hurt so much?

A storm came crashing through my mind as memories flooded back. I had fought in the battle. A piece of the blown up wall fell on me. Gandalf came and drove the orcs away with reinforcements.

How long had I been in this condition?

I finally managed to open my reluctant eyes. The pain in my back was not as bad as it had been. I could lie on my side without too much discomfort. As my eyes adjusted, I looked around the room. Éowyn was in her bed sleeping. Her hair looked like it had not been touched in days. Various rags, bandages and herbs lay on every flat surface of the room. What surprised me the most was the person sitting in a chair next to my bed. His head was lying next to me. By the elaborate braids in the beautiful blonde hair, I could easily tell it was Legolas.

I placed my hand on his head, willing him to get up. After a few moments, he shot straight up in his chair, staring at me.

"You are awake."

I rolled my eyes. "Really?! I had not noticed."

"Éowyn, get up. She is awake."

At the sound of her name, Éowyn attempted to get out of her bed, but instead rolled off and landed on the floor with a thump, causing me to start laughing. I ignored the pain caused by the laughing and focused on Éowyn glaring at me as she got up from the floor.

"She must be feeling much better if this is how she greets us after taking care of her so dutifully." Éowyn was still glaring. I just gave her a smile in return.

Legolas had not taken his eyes off of me once since I had woken. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was hit with a falling boulder."

Éowyn and Legolas both rolled their eyes.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"Four days," Legolas responded since Éowyn was beginning to clean up the very messy room.

"And of those four days, how many were spent by you sitting in that chair?"

He looked down at the ground. Éowyn answered for him, "All four. He refused to leave your side to eat or to rest. It seems you have an admirer." She was smiling at me with a knowing look in her eyes. Curse her.

"Really." I turned to Legolas who was still very interested with the floor. "Do you have anything to say to this accusation, Legolas?" I was teasing him and he knew it.

He was still staring at the floor when he shook his head.

"Okay. Help me get out of this bed then. I have rested enough."

They both helped me slowly roll out of bed. It felt weird standing up after lying down for so long. My whole body was stiff from lack of movement. I gripped Legolas's arm tightly just in case my body decided to collapse.

After a moment of just standing there regaining my balance, I slowly began to walk towards the door. I felt Legolas follow closely next to me, but Éowyn just stood watching us. She needed some "attending to" just like I had when we had first met.

* * *

I do not know how Legolas had the patience to deal with my slow progress, but he never left my side. When I finally reached my destination, the wall of Helm's Deep, I was practically out of breath.

There were corpses everywhere. Most of them were orcs, but there were still numerous elves and warriors of Rohan that lay among the dead. The living soldiers were slowly removing them all. It was a truly gruesome sight, especially while it was light out.

We found Gimli sitting on top of an orc carcass that had his axe in its skull.

"I see you have come back to the land of the living, lass."

"Indeed. I see you are enjoying our victory."

With that, he turned to look at Legolas expectantly.

"Final count: 42."

"42? Oh, that's not bad for a pointy-eared elvish princeling. I myself am sitting pretty on 43." Princeling? Legolas was a Prince?

Legolas grabbed an arrow and shot the orc Gimli was sitting on. "43." Oh Legolas. That was pointless because I had killed 45.

"He was already dead!" was Gimli's response.

"He was twitching." I let out a laugh at this response.

"He was twitching because he's got my axe embedded in his nervous system!"

I started laughing and was not able to stop for quite a while. They were being so ridiculous. Gimli and Legolas began to laugh soon after I did, realizing how hilarious they sounded to onlookers.

Gimli was the first to speak after our simultaneous laughter, "You have been beat by a dwarf, elf. You should get used to it."

"By my count, we have tied."

"No! He was already dead! You had 42!"

At this, I stepped into the conversation. "Neither of you won."

"But he said he had-" I held up my hand and Gimli went silent.

"You have both forgotten something. I fought in this battle too and I counted my kills."

"And?" Gimli questioned impatiently.

I looked him directly in the eyes, smiled, and said, "45."

His mouth dropped open. It was a truly priceless sight.

"You have been beaten by an elf, a female in fact. You should get used to it."

I heard Legolas chuckle from behind me, but Gimli just began his usual grumbling about elves.

A new pain began in my stomach. I had consumed nothing in four days. I needed a meal.

"I am hungry. Shall we find some food?" I wrapped my arm around Legolas's and he led me in the direction of where some food could be found.

This was how my recovery began. Being an elf, it did not take as long as a human would to heal. Later, I found out just how lucky I had been. My back was severely bruised, but nothing had been broken. There is still a faint scar on my lower back where a jagged edge of the boulder cut through the little armor I had worn.

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**Please review!**

**-Faervel**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you to everyone that has reviewed/followed/favorited this story!**

**Emily- I am so sorry for not putting you up here before! I always plan on replying to your awesome reviews, but then I always forget. Thank you so much and I apologize for not doing this earlier.**

**Gwilwillith- Thanks for your review! I'm glad you like it.**

**JasmineVsAngels- I'm glad you love this story so much. I hope you like this chapter too!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, just the characters I create.  
**

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Chapter 14

That night Legolas and I went on a ride at my insistence. I wanted to see the stars, and talk to him alone of course.

"Why did you not tell me you were a prince?"

"You did not ask."

I rolled my eyes. He was not wrong. "What are you the prince of?"

"Mirkwood. I miss my beautiful home more with each passing day."

I sighed. I knew what that felt like. "My home was not beautiful like I am sure yours is, but I still miss it. It could hold monsters and I would still miss it dearly."

"The beauty of a home is decided upon the people who live there. I assume you love your family very much?"

"Yes of course. I especially miss my sister."

"Tell me about her."

I considered what I was willing to tell him for a moment.

"She is younger than me. I do not know how much for I do not know my own age. Her looks are the exact opposite of mine. I have dark hair, but she has hair the color of gold. My eyes are dark brown, but hers are the color of a storm. I was teaching her how to use a bow when… when you found me in that river. She was making great progress. Out of everyone in my village, she is the one I miss the most."

We were silent for a few moments as this knowledge floated around in the air.

"What is her name?"

"Lauralyne."

"You will see Lauralyne again. You will return to your village. I promise you."

"And I promise you that you shall see your beloved Mirkwood again."

We rode in silence. I stared at the stars. I did not know how long I was to live, but in that moment, I knew I would never tire of the stars.

When Legolas and I returned to the stables and had taken care of our horses, we parted ways. I did not know where he was going and I did not ask.

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I did not want to sleep. I had slept for four days and I felt anything but tired. That is how I found myself wandering the maze of Helm's Deep. I had no idea where I was going, but that is exactly what I wanted. I had learned a long time ago that sometimes when you wanted to find yourself, you needed to be completely lost. As strange as that may sound, it is very true.

I was interrupted from trying to get myself lost when I literally walked into someone. I am such a graceful elf, I know. "Rose what are you doing wandering the halls at night?" I had walked into the ranger born to be a leader: Aragorn.

"I slept for four days, Aragorn. I do not need more rest."

He nodded his head in agreement. "What were you planning on doing then?"

"Getting lost." He chuckled.

"Come, I have a better idea. Let us practice our aim."

I readily agreed. After retrieving my bow and my quiver of arrows Legolas had replenished, I met Aragorn in the training room.

We did not say anything for the majority of the time. I liked how I was not required to answer questions or start a conversation. I could think freely and without interruption.

After once again feeling comfortable with my bow, I excused myself from the training room saying I was going back to see Éowyn.

* * *

I did not sleep that night. I returned to my room where Éowyn was already sleeping. I changed out of my dress and sat on my bed.

So much had happened to me in such a short amount of time. I would never return to being that care-free and always-smiling girl I had been in my village. Would I ever return to my village? There was no way of knowing.

I stared into the darkness and thought of how much it related to my current state. I was plunging into my future completely blind. The darkness could hold anything, most of which not pleasant. At least I had weapons to protect myself. Not only did I have weapons, but I had friends. Friends that would willingly fight together and die together. True friends.


	15. Chapter 15

**Everyone that has reviewed/followed/favorited this story is awesome and I love you all.**

**Emily- For every review you post, your name will be mentioned in my updates. Thanks for your reviews!**

**alexiana75- I'm so glad you loved the ending to my last chapter. I'm used to writing poetry, so some quotes or sentences that might sound like they belong in a poem will probably be a common occurrence in this story.**

**JasmineVsAngels- I try not to make my chapters too short, but it really takes a lot of time to revise and edit longer chapters and with homework and tennis I don't have that much time. I'm glad you like my quote! I've kept that quote to myself for a few years now.**

**brooklynnmeyer9- Thank you! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I only own the characters I create.  
**

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Chapter 15

For the first time since I had joined this company, I met the hobbits. We found them on some rocks smoking and drinking. In my opinion, this was not the best first impression, but it was hard not to enjoy their company.

Gimli was not very happy to see them. I think he was just jealous they got luxuries while he had to ride a horse behind Legolas. Aragorn smiled genuinely.

"We are sitting in a field of victory enjoying a few well-earned comforts. The salted pork is particularly good," one of the hobbits said after Gimli had scolded them.

"Salted pork?" Gimli's voice was full of longing.

I believe Gandalf muttered "hobbits" under his breath at this point.

The other hobbit spoke next, "We're under orders from Treebeard, who's taken over management of Isengard."

Gandalf had had enough. "Come along now. We have business in Isenagard to attend to."

The hobbit who had spoken first noticed me. "Who's that? I don't remember her."

"And I do not remember you either. Shall we introduce ourselves?" I dismounted from Amareth and walked up to them. "My name is Rose. I am a part of this company now."

The first hobbit introduced himself first, "I'm Pippin. You are very pretty." I noticed him blush a little and allowed myself to giggle at his compliment.

The second hobbit, jealous of the attention Pippin was getting, stepped forward and said, "And I'm Merry. Are you an elf or a human? You have the ears of an elf, but the manner of a human"

"I suppose a little of both. I am an elf by birth, but was raised by humans."

Gandalf, growing impatient, told us that we must be going. I mounted Amareth, Pippin rode with Gandalf and Merry rode with Éomer. I had not spoken a word to Éomer and he had not attempted to speak with me. He had visited my village often a few years ago and told me stories of happenings in Edoras. He also spoke often of his sister who was not permitted to travel with him. Éowyn was now my closest confident besides Legolas. Ever since I had denied him, Éomer and I had become mere acquaintances.

Isengard was flooded with filthy water. The Ents had my complete attention. They were spirits of trees come to life. When I was younger and upset over something, I commonly wished to be a tree. I wanted to know what it was like to be a tree, and here in front of me were trees that could answer those questions.

"Young master Gandalf, I'm glad you've come. Wood and water, stock and stone I can master, but there's a wizard to be managed here, locked in his tower." This was said very slowly, the speed of the trees.

Gandalf responded, "And there Saruman must remain, under your guard, Treebeard."

Gimli, now being the one to grow impatient, demanded, "Let's just have his head and be done with it."

"No. We need him alive. We need him to talk."

The horses shifted restlessly. Everyone was staring towards the top of the tower, waiting for Saruman to appear. We heard his voice before we saw him. It was deep and, in my opinion, held power as well as evil.

"You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden king, and made peace afterwards. Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?"  
Théoden did not look happy with this. He responded, "We shall have peace. WE SHALL HAVE PEACE WHEN YOU ANSWER FOR THE BURNING OF THE WEST FOLD, AND THE CHILDREN THAT LIE DEAD THERE. WE SHALL HAVE PEACE WHEN THE LIVES OF THE SOLDIERS, WHO'S BODIES WERE HEWN EVEN AS THEY LAY DEAD AGAINST THE GATES OF THE HORNBURG, ARE AVENGED WHEN YOU HANG FOR THE SPORT OF YOUR OWN CROWS. WE SHALL HAVE PEACE." I agreed with this speech whole-heartedly.

"Your treachery has cost many lives. Thousands more are at risk, but you can save them Saruman. You are deep in the enemy's counsel." Gandalf was trying to bring back the good in the evil wizard. I could now see why we needed Saruman alive. He had information that was priceless to us.

"So you are here for information. I have some for you." He held up a large ball of glass. By the look on Gandalf's face, it was very important. "Something festers in the heart of Middle-earth, something that you have failed to see. The Great Eye has seen it. Even now, he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon; you are all going to die. But you know this, don't you Gandalf. You cannot think that this ranger may ever sit upon the throne of Gondor. This exile. Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the halfling before you sent him to his doom? The path you have set him on can only lead to death."

"I've heard enough! Shoot him! Stick an arrow in his gut!" The ever-impatient Gimli said.

Gandalf still did not allow this. "No. Come down Saruman, and your life will be spared."

"Save your pity and your mercy. I have no use for it." Saruman shot fire from his staff at Gandalf. It engulfed the wizard as well as Shadowfax. Amareth, along with the other horses, neighed in alarm. The fire disappeared, revealing Gandalf and Shadowfax to be unharmed.

"Saruman, your staff is broken." Saruman's staff broke before us. Grima Wormtongue, still as greasy-haired as ever, crept into our line of sight. King Théoden tried to convince him to leave Saruman and come back to Rohan with him, but I did not like that idea at all. Saruman insulted Rohan as well as King Théoden. I was growing sick of this. This was hopeless.

I was interrupted from my impatient thoughts when Grima stabbed Saruman in the back. That was one of the last things I expected to happen. Legolas shot an arrow at the greasy black-haired man, hitting his heart. Saruman fell from his tower, dead.

Despite not being able to acquire the information we had come for, Gandalf was not deterred one bit.

"We need to know where Sauron will strike next."

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**I have some unfortunate news for my readers. I have been updating pretty much everyday at this point, but that is going to change now. This story will be finished, no worries there, but I will be updating less often. I felt like this chapter was a little boring, but I promise the next chapter will be better. I will try to have it finished with all of the revisions for Tuesday, but if I'm not satisfied with it then it will be updated for sure by Wednesday. Also, I have not completely finished this story yet, so if you have any suggestions for how you want this to end I could use a little inspiration. You can PM them to me if you don't want to review them. Thank you!**

**-Faervel**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you to all my amazing readers!**

**Guest- Thank you for your suggestions! I believe I have come up with an ending now. I didn't take your idea, but I did come up with something. I really appreciate your advice!**

**brooklynnmeyer9- Yeah with school, I really can't update every day anymore. I typed up this chapter instead of studying for a test tomorrow. Oh well. Thanks for your advice!**

**JasmineVsAngels- I will update at least once a week. This chapter is mainly a Rose and Legolas chapter. I'm sorry for the last chapter being so boring, but boring chapters are always a part of stories.**

**Gwilwillith- Thanks!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, no matter how much I would love to.**

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Chapter 16

A celebration for our victory was given. King Théoden made a toast to the many that had fallen in battle. I refused to touch the ale. I had seen many times in my village how it affected people and I did not want that for myself. It weakened their minds and I very much enjoy having clear thoughts. Well, most of the time. When it came to my thoughts of Legolas, I usually wished I could forget them. Legolas and Gimli, however, did not fear drunkenness and decided to play a drinking game.

"Last one standing wins!" proclaimed Gimli. I was almost afraid to watch this. Almost.

As the number of ales each consumed increased, Gimli became increasingly drunk while Legolas looked entirely unaffected.

"I feel something, a slight tingle in my fingers. I think it's affecting me." I rolled my eyes at Legolas's comment and the look Éomer gave him mirrored my thoughts. Gimli, on the other hand, was completely drunk. He began speaking extremely slurred words that were hard to understand, his eyes crossed, and he fell backwards out of his seat unconscious.

"Game over." Legolas looked unsurprised at the outcome.

I walked away laughing. I had seen the hobbits beginning to sing and dance and I wanted to watch. I cheered them on until they were too drunk to continue. I turned away to find someone else to amuse me, only to walk straight into Legolas.

"Did you have too much ale, Rose?" Legolas asked while smiling.

"No of course not! I did not have any!"

"Yet you walked into me still."

"It is not my fault you were in my way."

Laughing, he said, "Where were you going?"

Making a quick decision, I said,"I was going outside. I prefer fresh air and wilderness to overflowing rooms of people."

He held out his arm and I took it. The night air was cool and full of the sweet smell of freedom. I sat down and looked up the ever-shining stars. I closed my eyes and sat there listening to the ongoing celebration as well as the wild night.

"Are you well?" Legolas's blue eyes met my dark brown ones as I opened my eyes.

"Crowds suffocate me." He nodded in understanding. "Is the drink still affecting you?" We both smiled at my question.

"The slight tingle is fading away. Why did you not participate? We could have easily beat Gimli together."

"I have no desire to drink that foul liquid. I have seen what it can do and I am entirely against it."

"It does not affect elves as it does humans."

"I still have no desire for it."

"You do not give in easily."

"I am aware."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company. I felt tiredness finally begin to arrive. I laid down and stared straight up at the stars.

"Can you promise me something, Legolas?"

"Depends on what the promise is." I felt him lay down next to me.

"After this war is over, do not abandon me. I do not belong in my village anymore. I belong exactly where I am now."

"At a celebration for winning a battle?"

"No. I belong here, on this journey. You were meant to find me in that river. I was meant to find Amareth. I was meant to leave behind my provincial village and become stronger than I ever was."

"I promise not to abandon you." To my surprise, he slipped his hand into mine. "Even if I did not promise, I doubt I would be able to."

* * *

The next morning I woke up in my bed with no memory as to how I had gotten there. I sat up and saw Éowyn fixing her hair in front of a mirror.

"Your admirer carried you here last night, in case you were wondering."

"He is not my admirer."

"Yet you knew who I spoke of."

I glared at her and she smiled back.

"I suggest you get ready for the day."

"Why?"

"There was a…incident….early this morning with Pippin. It is to be discussed soon."

When I actually discovered what this "incident" had been, I wished I had been there to help. Pippin and Aragorn both had almost died because of a glass ball called a palantir. Sauron used it originally to speak to Saruman, but it had fallen into the hands of a curious hobbit. It had already been decided that Gandalf and Pippin were to leave for Minas Tirith immediately and warn the Steward.

I had one question for Gandalf before he left, "What are we to do?"

He considered this for a moment. "Wait."

I moaned in annoyance. I am not a patient person when it comes to the fate of the land we live on.

"I understand your impatience, child. In some wars, you have to wait for your enemy to make their move before you decide how to make yours. We have been fortunate enough to see Sauron's next move, now it is time to make ours."

He mounted Shadowfax and Pippin was set in front of him. Aragorn and I watched as they rode away.

I decided to spend the rest of the day practicing with my bow. I did not hit the center of the target every time, but I was always close.

I was about to release another arrow when a voice from behind me said, "You need to relax a little more. I watched in frustration as the arrow completely missed the target.

"I thank you for your helpful words of wisdom just as I was about to shoot." I let the anger flow into my voice at Legolas scaring me.

"My apologies for frightening you."

I laughed and looked at him. "You do not frighten me, Legolas. Why are you here?"

" I was going to practice, but you were already here."

"So you decided to watch me?"

"I decided to observe how you shoot."

I rolled my eyes. "That is the same thing with different wording. I will not punish you for staring at me though, for I am guilty of the same offense."

"I am well aware of this. Whenever you are in the room, I can feel your eyes on me."

"I believe that is just what you hope. I do not stare that often."

"Perhaps."

Awkward silence followed this conversation. This was the first time our silence had been awkward, and I did not like it.

"There is something I have been meaning to ask you. I have been raised by humans and before this journey I had never met another elf. I know nothing of who I truly am."

He raised his eyebrows. "I did not hear a question."

I rolled my eyes. I roll my eyes quite often around him. "Could you teach me about elves? The language? The history? The customs?"

He smiled. "I would be honored."


	17. Chapter 17

**I love all my readers. You are all amazing. You should already know that, but I just wanted to remind you.**

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* * *

Chapter 17

The next few days were dedicated to learning everything there was to know about elves. Legolas had the patience of a good teacher and I had the thirst for knowledge of a good student. The language of the elves fell naturally on my tongue. After three days, I could already form many sentences and have short conversations with Legolas and Aragorn. What I struggled with the most was remembering the many names of the elves from the past. I would get their names and achievements completely confused.

During one of my history lessons that I had insisted on being held outside, I was struggling to remember the name of a particular elf when Aragorn came rushing past us yelling, "The beacon has been lit! Gondor calls for aid."

This put an immediate end to my history lesson. Legolas and I raced after Aragorn towards King Théoden to hear his decision.

"My king, Gondor calls for aid." Aragorn had someone managed to compose himself. That man is magical.

After a few moments of silence, Théoden replied, "And Rohan will answer it."

Excitement was raised among everyone, except for me. I had no bloodlust. I had no love for war and fighting and death. I was not looking forward to this next battle that we were all going to face.

I was ready to travel in a matter of minutes. I had very few belongings. To pass the time while everyone else readied themselves, I went to the stables to visit Amareth.

She was as beautiful as ever and whinnied contently when I approached her.

"How is my beautiful girl doing?"

She bobbed her head and moved her mouth towards my hand where I held an apple. I laughed and took a bite of the apple, teasing her. Amareth bobbed her head again and I held out the apple for her to take. She ate it as is it would be her last meal. It was gone in a matter of moments.

"Oh Amareth. Everyone is happy to be off to war again. I feel like I am the only one dreading it." I let out a deep sigh and pressed my forehead to hers. She was very still, understanding my need for comfort. "You will be with me. We will achieve this feat together. We are one." I looked straight into her dark, understanding eyes. Words are not always needed to communicate. Sometimes, the best comfort is saying nothing at all. Believe it or not, horses are good at that. "I thank you for your loyalty." In response, Amareth bobbed her head, but put her forehead against mine again and we just stood there for a while, two reined in free spirits charging towards our fate together.

"Gandalf was right. You bond with all that lives is remarkable." I quickly turned and saw Aragorn watching me from the entrance of the stables.

"How long have you been watching me?"

He smiled. "Long enough to realize that we truly found a worthy member to add to our company."

I felt a light blush begin to cover my face at this praise.

"However, I have not been watching nearly as long as he has." There was a glint in Aragorn's eyes that I did not understand. He was looking at something behind me so I turned and looked too.

Emerging from a stall a few down from Amareth's on the opposite side of the stables was Legolas.

"I almost went unnoticed, Aragorn." Legolas too was smiling.

"Let me make sure I understand this," I started, "I came to the stables to be alone with my horse, and in the end an elf and a man are watching me without my knowledge of them being there?"

Aragorn began laughing instantly and Legolas smiled the biggest smile I had seen on his face before. He was the one that replied.

"Indeed, you seem to understand everything quite well." He began to laugh and after I rolled my eyes, I began laughing too.

Aragorn left as soon as he had finished laughing due to some arrangements he had to make with King Théoden. Legolas remained in the stables with me.

"Why did you not tell me of your feelings towards going to war?"

"I feel alone when it comes to my feelings towards war. In this situation, war is the only way to achieve peace, but that does not mean I am going to like it."

"I find that speaking your mind helps more than trying to contain thoughts."

"The horrors of war are clearer to me than to everyone else, or so it seems."

"That is not true. I have been alive much longer than you and have learned to accept what I see. Death is a part of life, and life is a part of death. In the end, it is all the same."

"But how do I handle it? I cannot close my eyes without seeing blood pouring from an open wound of a fellow soldier."

Legolas hugged me tightly. "Time will teach you."

"Legolas, my dear friend, how will we survive this? The chances are always against us."

He laid his cheek on top of my head and whispered back, "We will survive together, or die together. I am content with either."

He pulled back slightly and did the last thing I expected him to do. He kissed me. Right in the middle of a stable filled with horses. Right in the middle of a war that the fate of life as we knew it depended on, he kissed me. And I was kissing him back.

When we broke apart, I whispered to him, "I am content with either as well."


	18. Chapter 18

**I am so sorry for not updating sooner. I know this chapter is super short, but in my opinion it's better than not updating. This past week has been really crazy. Wednesday was my birthday and I had a quiz/test practically every day along with homework to do. Hopefully I will get chapter 19 up this weekend to make up for all this.**

**brooklynmeyer9- I haven't decided if I will add that scene yet because I haven't decided where Rose will be during the battle scene. That is one of my favorite lines too!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings in any way.  
**

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Chapter 18

I was glad to be on Amareth's back again. I had missed riding. Dunharrow was not as far as Helm's Deep and on this journey we did not have to move at the speed of people walking. We reached Dunharrow at sunset. Éowyn came and found me and together we set up our tent. There was a meeting held discussing the number of men and the alliances that still needed to be made. Instead of doing that, Éowyn and I sparred together. We were laughing the whole time and did not take it seriously. When we finally sat down, exhausted, neither of us had even a scratch.

"Tell me something Rose."

"What do you wish me to tell you?"

"A story. A truth about yourself. A secret. Anything."

I thought about an appropriate response for a moment. I had many stories from my childhood, but few secrets. Why not tell her a secret?

"I believe I am in love."

"Really? With whom?" This caused Éowyn to sit up from her position on the ground.

"My "secret admirer" of course." She fell back onto the grass laughing. "What?! What is so funny?" I could not help the annoyance that slipped into my voice. If Éowyn heard it, she pretended not to.

"It has taken you way too long to admit to that. I knew that a long time ago, little flower."

"Well what about you then, Éowyn? Everyone knows you have feelings for Aragorn."

Her cheeks darkened as she said, "Everyone knows?"

It was my turn to laugh. "Oh, but of course! It is hard not to see."

"And what does everyone see when he looks at me?"

With that question, my smile altogether disappeared. "Éowyn, he loves another. He has loved this women for many years and I do not believe it will ever change."

"I told myself that I would not love him once I found out that he was already in love, but I cannot help it. I try to suppress my feelings but they only come back stronger.

"Only the great healer Time can cure you, my dear Éowyn." I could see tears forming in her eyes.

"And only Time will tell how happy you will eventually become, my little flower."

"Come, it is late. We should rest." I grabbed her hands and helped her up. We walked back to our tent, arms linked. We were two female warriors facing the world full of evil together. This is sisterhood.


	19. Chapter 19

**To all of my readers: I love you.**

**SamCarter121314- Thank you so much. I was worried that this chapter would be disliked. I think that if I had a scene between Rose and Legolas in every chapter it would just ruin the magic that is love.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.  
**

* * *

Chapter 19

_I was riding on Amareth. My bow was in my right hand and I was nocking an arrow with my left. All around me was chaos. Weapons were clashing, blood was being spilt, and screams of agony were filling the air. An intricately braided blonde head caught my attention amongst the horror surrounding me. Just as I had caught sight of Legolas, an orc began to ambush him from behind. I tried to scream for him to move, but it got swept up in the hundreds of other screams. I kicked Amareth to go faster, but she was already going beyond her maximum speed. I was too late. The orc stabbed Legolas in the back. I screamed as he fell. Tears shot from my eyes like an underground spring had erupted. I dismounted, ready to avenge his death. I raised my bow, only to realize it was no longer a bow, but one of the swords the orcs carried. I dropped it and turned to Amareth. She was gone, replaced by a warg. I looked down at my body. I was an orc. _

_I dropped to the ground. The screams kept going. The blood kept pouring. I willed for this scene and this noise to disappear. I waited to be carried away to a better place._

I shot up from my position on the ground. I was breathing as if it had all been real. I was in my tent. Éowyn was sleeping next to me. It was a dream. None of it was real.

I brought my knees to my chest and set my head on top of them. The sadness was still wracking my body. This dream had informed me of many things. I most definitely loved Legolas. The very thought of losing him was unbearable.

Why had I transformed into an orc though? Perhaps to show that we were not much different from them. They were fighting for what they wanted and for what they believed in. That is what we were fighting for, right? We were both using violence to achieve our goals. So what was the difference? What separated us from the opposing side?

What we believed in. Sauron and his army believed in total control and all they wanted was to better themselves. We were fighting for ourselves, yes, but also for those to come. Our beliefs. That is what set us apart.

The sight of Legolas's dead body kept creeping into my mind. I needed to see him. I needed to make sure he was okay.

I got up and ran out of the tent. I needed to see him. I could feel the panic beginning to rise inside of me. Where was he?

I finally ran into him, literally. I seem to do that a lot.

"Rose, Rose calm down. What is wrong?" His grabbed my arms as I let out a sob. I hugged him as tightly as I could and began to cry into his chest.

"You are okay. It was all a dream. You are okay." I repeated this over and over again while crying. The underground spring behind my eyes had erupted and this time it was not a dream.

Legolas hugged me back and smoothed my hair while whispering words of comfort in my ear. I just let the spring run out and Legolas held me the whole time.

After I had finally calmed down, I felt exhausted. My emotions were more energy-consuming than fighting on the battlefield.

"What is wrong, my love?"

"I dreamt of your death. I shall never sleep again."

"Tomorrow is an important day. We both need our rest."

I hugged him even tighter. "No. I shall not rest." Legolas picked me up yet again. This time instead of carrying me to the caves to keep me safe, he carried me to his tent. I curled up next to him as he lay down and he wrapped his arms around me again. "I told you. I do not want to rest."

"But you need to, as do I. You are safe here. It was all a dream. You can forget it." I am usually very stubborn, and I hope I will not hurt my reputation when I say this time I gave in. I was warm, comfortable, and mentally exhausted. I fell into a peaceful and dreamless sleep listening to the sound of Legolas's strong and steady heartbeat.

Right before I slipped into unconsciousness, I knew in my heart and in my wild and free spirit, I had found my destiny. Legolas was my one true love and I would go to the greatest lengths for him. In realizing this, my spirit was not captured. No, love does not capture a spirit. It sets it free because when it finds love, it finds its purpose. Knowledge, wisdom, and discovery are all words that can describe this freedom. Not everyone finds it, but I had been one of the lucky people. I was truly a free spirit now.

* * *

**I might not be able to update this week if school is as crazy as it was last week. I hope you like this chapter! Until next time, my beloved readers.**

**-Faervel**


	20. Chapter 20

**The last chapter got the most reviews so far. I am quite surprised because I had not even planned for that chapter to be in the story. It was a spur of the moment decision. All of my readers are awesome and I love you.**

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**SamCarter121314- I have a ton of trouble sleeping too. Last year I got 2-4 hours of sleep a night the whole school year. I'm sorry about the image you now have, but remember, it was all a dream. I would never write about Legolas dying for real. I love him too much.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. Sadly.  
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* * *

Chapter 20

The next day was filled with the gathering of thousands of soldiers in Dunharrow. Anyone could see the hope in Théoden's eyes as more and more men arrived.

Éowyn spent the day attending to the soldiers that required food, but I knew better than to eat food she cooked. I had only seen her once so far and she had questioned where I had been because I was not in the tent when she had woken. I told her that for the first time in my life I woke up early and went for a walk around the camp. It was a complete lie, but she fell for it. I pretended not to feel guilty about lying to her.

I spent most of the morning that I was actually awake for wandering around. I helped set up tents if I was needed and I helped to take care of the horses. They were all restless and tense, but my "special connection" to animals seemed to help calm some of them a little.

I saw Legolas and Gimli a few times, but they were always talking with Aragorn and I decided not to interrupt. I usually would without a second thought, but with a battle looming like a storm cloud I needed as much time to myself to prepare myself mentally. If I was needed, someone would have come and found me anyway. I was clearly not needed.

"Rose! Can I have your help in setting up this tent?" Éowyn had found me. I suppose I was needed. To set up tents. Believe me when I say, I felt very very needed.

"Yes of course I will help."

"I have been looking for you all day. Where have you been?"

"Around," was my specific answer.

Éowyn rolled her eyes, "Would you like some food?"

"No, thank you. I already ate." I lied yet again to my beloved Éowyn. I had not eaten anything since before we left for Dunharrow.

"Well I am going to look for more hungry soldiers. I am surprised at how few are."

She walked away and I laughed quietly at her retreating figure. I turned around and saw Legolas sitting next to a fire alone. I sat silently down next to him.

"Do you have any food?"

"How did you escape Éowyn from feeding you?" he said with a smirk.

"I used my magical elf abilities of course. I am not that hungry, but fighting with an empty stomach is not a good idea."

He handed me a small piece of lembas bread that he had stashed with his belongings. "That is all I have left."

I ate the small piece very slowly. After I had finished it, I could feel the affect it had on me. My stomach was full and I had more energy.

"Legolas, are you afraid?"

"Of dying, no. Of losing someone I care about, yes."

"I am afraid. Not of dying, but of the horrors of war. I have fought in one battle and the bloodshed still clings to my eyes."

"It never leaves, only fades with time."

I sighed. Time seemed to be the answer to everything. "When I return home, I fear my family will not recognize me."

"Not all change is for the worse. You have a greater understanding of the world and of the people in it. I do not believe this is a bad thing."

I laid my head on his shoulder. "That is not the only way I have changed and you know it."

"You have changed. There is no denying that. I am sure your family will love you no matter how much you change."

I did not respond. I was used to Legolas's presence and it comforted me. We sat there silently for a long time. I felt my mind gradually relax. "Tell me what you are thinking."

"I am thinking of everything and I am thinking of nothing." Well that certainly helped.

"I will tell you what I am thinking if you do."

He sighed. "This will be like Helm's Deep. We do not have enough men. This time we will have no wall of door to hide behind to retreat to. If we lose, all is lost. It is a lot to think about."

"The side that should win will win. Good always prevails over evil. Good has an advantage evil will never overcome."

"What is this advantage?"

"If we are good, then we do not fight for ourselves. We fight for everyone else and everyone to come. We fight with our hearts and souls, not from our greed of power. That is something evil can never understand. That is how we will win."

When I finished this explanation, Legolas stood and I did too. He put his lips to my forehead.

"You are wise beyond your years, my beautiful flower."


	21. Chapter 21

**It has been too long, my amazing readers. I apologize.**

**ToryIsConfusedDotCom: I'm glad you liked the speech at the end. :)**

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* * *

Chapter 21

Despite my mental exhaustion I refused to allow myself to sleep that night. As I had done in the morning, I was continuing to walk around the camp in the night. Most of the men were not sleeping either. I was growing tired of this camp. I was restless like the horses. No matter how much food or comforting words they received, the path that led into the mountain was still spooking them.

My thoughts were changed when I saw Legolas leading Arod away from his tent. Where could he be going? And on the eve before battle no less. I did what any normal person would do: I followed him.

He met up with Gimli who was sitting next to a fire and Aragorn who was leading his horse. This was very strange. Where could they possibly be going? I moved closer so that I could hear what was being said a little clearer.

"Have you learned nothing of the stubbornness of dwarves?" Legolas gave Aragorn a sly smile.

"You might as well accept it. We're going with you, laddie."

At this point I ran forward and made my presence know. "Where are you going? I am coming too."

Three sets of surprised eyes all found me. They were all saying the same thing: no.

"Rose you cannot come. You must stay here with Éowyn." I shot a glare at Legolas.

"I have as much right as all of you do to go. This is my life and I will decide what I do with it."

Aragorn added his thoughts in addition to Legolas's, "I agree. You must stay here. Éowyn needs someone."

I had lied more than once to my beloved Éowyn today. I already felt guilty, but I could not allow my new family to go through a path in the mountains that lead to certain death without me.

I opened my mouth to convince them to let me come, but before I could get the words out, an arm was wrapped around my throat stealing the air from my lungs. None of the men moved to help me.

"I am truly sorry Rose. We will not allow you to come with us." Legolas had promised he would never hurt me. In that moment when I could feel the life draining from my body, I was most definitely hurt. I knew as soon as I saw black, air would be allowed into my lungs again. I would be allowed to live, but they were not willing to take any chances. Legolas knew that I would follow them, so he wanted to make sure I would not be conscious so I would not follow them.

As my vision began to fade, the last thing I saw before everything turned black was Legolas's piercing traitorous eyes staring at me.

My last thought: He is a dead elf.

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**I know I know, you hate it. I'm sorry at how upsetting this chapter probably is to some of you, but don't lost faith in me. I have much more to write still.**

**-Faervel**


	22. Chapter 22

**closetfangirl2511: I know and I'm sorry. This one is a little longer and posted not a whole week later, so hopefully this will make up for the last chapter.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Chapter 22

I could hear the sound of men and horses running around outside my tent. I had been conscious since before dawn, but I had not moved. My heart was hurting. I had trusted Legolas. Look what had happened to me. Heartbroken. I was going to battle carrying a broken heart with me.

When heartbreak is new, all that is wanted is relief. Death brings relief. I wanted to die that morning. Instead, I stood up and walked outside to find Amareth. I needed to ready myself.

The king had spent hours upon hours devising battle strategies, but the eve before battle, I had created my own: sacrifice. Many of these men wanted to go home. I had decided it would be better to sacrifice myself for one of them then to fight for my own life.

"Rose! Rose I know you can hear me!" Éowyn was rushing towards me from behind, but I recognized her voice and the sound of her footsteps.

I turned around just as she reached me. "What is it Éowyn?"

"Come with me. Quickly. We will find you some armor to disguise you. I already found some for me." Éowyn was going to fight. I was told to stay with Éowyn, so with Éowyn I was going to stay.

She knew exactly where to look for armor. I had no idea which tent to look in and even if I did I would have had no idea what type of armor I needed. Éowyn knew all of this. We put on our armor together in our tent. We made sure no strands of hair could be seen and we left together.

I found my Amareth and mounted. Éowyn came up behind us on her own horse and we began to follow the men towards battle. Along the way, she quickly grabbed Merry. He had been told not to fight as had Éowyn. It was only natural that they go together.

We rode with few breaks. We needed to reach Minas Tirith as soon as possible. Men had scouted ahead and seen that the battle had started long ago. We were told that when we arrived to expect immediate fighting.

The days that had led up to this battle had been full of nightmares and fears for me, but I felt none of that now. The destruction inside of me drove all other feelings away.

I allowed Merry to take a turn riding with me on Amareth. Éowyn and I rode next to each the entire way, never being separated. I was emanating sorrow, and for some reason so was she. What could have caused her as much sorrow as me in such a short amount of time? A heartbreak. Who could have broken her heart? Who did she love?

Aragorn.

So much like his elf friend. They had both caused broken hearts in the very same night. Now Éowyn and I were riding to battle with death wishes.

The sound of battle could be heard before it could be seen. Various parts of the layers in Minas Tirith were in flames or had simply fallen to pieces. As our army of men, women, and a hobbit mounted the final hill, the enemy was finally seen. We were extremely outnumbered. Many would die on both sides. Éowyn and I wanted the relief of death, but not without a fight.

We were sisters in life, and we were going to be sisters in death.

Such is the price of war.


	23. Chapter 23

**This is the longest chapter so far. I hope you like it! **

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* * *

Chapter 23

King Théoden made a speech. He gave directions as to where everyone was to go. I paid attention to none of it. I was staring at the huge army of orcs and trolls. They had seen us, of course, and were beginning to head in our direction. Éowyn and I looked at each other simultaneously.

"Let us try to stay together." She nodded her head in agreement. Merry did too. He was back on Éowyn's horse.

A battle cry spread among the men, the horns were blown, and we charged.

All of my senses went numb. I swung my sword and Amareth trampled everything in her way. She was a war horse. I was a warrior. Together we made an indestructible team.

I remember the wind hitting my face and the feeling of my sword hitting orcs. I remember the smell of blood surrounding me. I remember feeling Amareth's muscular body running beneath me. I cannot remember what a single thing looked like. I do not know if my eyes were open or closed, but I cannot remember a single detail of what the first charge looked like. That is a memory that will be permanently blocked from my mind and no attempts to retrieve it will ever be made.

War is bloody and terrible in every way. Yet it is a part of everyone's lives. Whether it is in memories or in stories, war is never ignored or forgotten.

The first thing I can recall is after the first charge was over.

"Make safe the city!" King Théoden believed the worst to be over, but he discovered how truly wrong he was a moment later. A new army was pounding towards us mounted on oliphaunts. Their chants were sending evil chills up my back. Their horns sounded melancholy and evil.

"Reform the line! Reform the line!" The line was hastily reformed. A horn was blown.

"Charge!" I kicked Amareth forward along with the other horses. Some of the horses protested charging the oliphaunts, but Amareth did not even flinch. She was meant to be my horse.

When it came to these oliphaunts, I had no idea how to fight them. They were practically indestructible. I shot a few of my arrows which barely seemed to cause it pain. What were its weaknesses? I had read about these creatures. Everything had a weakness. Its mouth was probably one, but that would be too hard for me to attempt while riding.

Éowyn and Merry ran right past me through the legs of an oliphaunt. She slashed at all of its legs and the oliphant roared as it fell. I attempted to do the same, but the slashes were not deep enough so the oliphaunt was only angered. How do I kill these things?!

I was distracted from this by the sound of a horrible scream. A fell beast descended from the sky carrying the most horrible creature I had ever read about: the witch king.

The fell beast flew straight at King Théoden mounted on his horse and attacked. It threw King Théoden and his horse like they weighed nothing. When they fell, the beautiful white horse lay dead but the king lay barely breathing beneath it.

Everyone ran. They wanted to be nowhere near these horrible creatures. This was their king. Yet they were still cowards.

"Feast on his flesh." Despite the chill that spread over my entire body, I continued to push Amareth towards the king. I would not be a coward, I would defend the king.

I was only strides away when another person stepped in front of the king. I recognized her voice: Éowyn.

"I will kill you if you touch him." I dismounted and slowly crept up behind the fell beast, leaving Amareth a safe distance behind me.

"Do not come between a Nazg_û_l and his prey." The fell beast attacked. I hoped that Éowyn could defeat it; I needed to creep a little closer in order to be able to help. Unexpectedly, the beast lurched backwards towards me. I jumped back and rolled as far away as I could and scratched my arm badly on a blade lying on the ground. I bit my hand to prevent the scream of pain. I looked up to see Éowyn face to face with the witch king. They began to fight, but it was full of Éowyn ducking and the witch king attacking from every direction. She needed help. She was not fast enough in ducking a blow, and she fell back on the king's dead horse. I pushed myself up to help, but before I could Merry came running forward and stabbed the witch king in the leg. He fell back, screaming in pain. This gave Éowyn just enough time to stand up, take off her helmet, and plunge her sword into the face of the witch king. He crumbled to the ground. I ran to Éowyn.

"Go, Rose. I am fine. The battle is not over."

"You are not fit to be left alone."

"I will live. Go. I command you." Normally, I would not listen to a command. This time, I could see in Éowyn's eyes that she did not want or need my help. I nodded my head and called for Amareth.

"I will see you after this is over, my sister." Éowyn nodded and began to crawl towards the king. I kicked Amareth in the direction of the ongoing battle. There were still some oliphaunts alive. I decided it was my turn to bring one down. I would try the leg slashing tactic again.

I picked the closest one and Amareth ran towards it. She understood what I was going to attempt to do. I pulled out my sword and Legolas's dagger. The people on top of the oliphaunt saw me coming and attempted to shoot arrows at me. One lodged itself in my shoulder, but I ignored it. I had a mission.

Being underneath an oliphaunt is probably on my list of most terrifying things I have ever done. Éowyn had made it look so easy, but I had no idea what I was doing. I reached out the sword and the dagger as far as they would reach and used all my strength to cut through the hide on the legs. I managed to cut one of the front legs with my sword, but my dagger was too short to reach the other leg. The oliphaunt roared, but did not collapse. I had failed.

The next most terrifying thing I have ever done would have to be going underneath the oliphaunt again. This time, I made a deep enough cut in a back leg. The oliphaunt went down. This was my biggest achievement of the whole battle. Absolutely nothing compared to Éowyn's.

I had originally planned to attempt the same strategy on the next oliphaunt, but someone beat me to it. A blonde haired, extremely agile, pointy eared heartbreaker climbed up the oliphaunt by using the arrows lodged in its side as footholds. What. A. Showoff.

Fortunately, yes I said fortunately, one of the arrows broke and he could not reach another. Being the kind-hearted elf that I am, I reached back and took an arrow from my quiver. I stopped Amareth and carefully aimed my arrow. I shot it perfectly and flawlessly. Legolas grabbed it, but I was more pleased by the fact that I had managed to scrape his shoulder in the process. He needed a few scratches. Preferably from me.

I shot a few of the men sitting on top of the oliphaunt, but Legolas did not need any help. He shot many of them, some fell off, but the remaining still in the saddle were cut off because Legolas cut the saddle strap. He shot the oliphaunt in the head, and then proceeded to slide down its trunk, landing perfectly and safely on the ground. Again: What. A. Showoff.

"That still only counts as one!" I heard Gimli yell. I almost laughed. I had not counted how many I had killed, but I was sure I had beaten them both.

I helped to shoot a few stray orcs that were still alive, but there was not much more to do. Ghosts did all the work for us. After the battle, I heard the whole story from Gimli, but during the battle I avoided the ghosts as best I could. They scared me and I had no idea where they had come from.

We had arrived at the beginning of day, yet we finished fighting at the beginning of night. It had been a long and bloody day. My shoulder ached from the arrow wound. I had pulled the arrow out myself because it had not been shot in my shoulder too deep. I refused to move my arm, though, because it hurt too much.

After the fighting was over, the scene before the survivors was a nightmare. Bodies of men, orcs, trolls, horses, and oliphants lay everywhere. Amareth and I were ready for rest. We had both gone beyond our limits and now was the time to pay for it. We slowly walked side by side, looking for survivors. I found a man that was barely breathing, but before I could call for help, his breath quickly stopped. I sighed and continued on walking. Amareth silently followed behind me.

A scream filled the silence and I quickly turned. Éomer had found Éowyn. She was unconscious and looked lifeless. I ran over to them and felt for a heartbeat. It was there, but faint. I turned to call Amareth, but she had followed me to Éowyn's body.

"Come, she needs help now. I will bring her to Minas Tirith." Éomer shook his head and continued to hold her to him. "She is not dead, but if she does not get attention now, she will die." After a few moments, Éomer managed to nod his head. I mounted Amareth and Éomer picked Éowyn up and set her in front of me. Using the last energy I had, I kicked Amareth towards the demolished gates of Minas Tirith.


	24. Chapter 24

**SamCarter121314- She's mad at Legolas, so she is allowed to call him a show off. Thanks for your review!**

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* * *

Chapter 24

I was exhausted. There are no words to describe the exhaustion I felt. Instead of getting rest, I sat next to Éowyn's bed in the House of Healing with my head in my hands. I should not have left her. I should have helped her get to safety. Instead I had helped the traitor, Legolas, and had left Éowyn defenseless. I would never forgive myself.

I was interrupted by a knock on the door. I turned my head and saw Éomer enter. His eyes were red from crying. "How is she?"

"The healers do not know if she will live. I believe she will. She is much stronger than she looks." Éomer nodded his head, but he looked like he would start crying at any moment.

A healer rushed into the room carrying bandages and various herbs. She had discovered my shoulder wound and had insisted on caring for it. When she saw Éomer was in the room, she asked him to leave for a moment so she could dress my wound. He reluctantly nodded and left.

"You were lucky, my lady. This is not a deep wound."

"Not all deep wounds can be seen."

"Yes I suppose that is true. The unseen wounds hurt just as much as the seen ones."

"Do you know of a cure?" The healer pressed an herb into the arrow wound and I flinched.

"Forgive me, my lady, but what is your wound?"

I looked at Éowyn's pain contorted face. That is how I had felt when I had seen Legolas. He was climbing an oliphaunt and I had been a distance away, but just seeing him inflicted so much pain. It was unbearable.

"A broken heart."

"Ah, the most common wound. There is not one cure for all to use. For some there is no cure at all. You are still young and beautiful, my lady. You will find a cure."

I looked at the healer. She was not old, but she was not young either. Streaks of gray ran through her black hair. She had light gray eyes and her face held a few wrinkles. She was completely ordinary, but there was something about what lay behind her kind eyes that showed another side. She had wisdom.

This healer not only healed my arrow wound, but she taught me something as well. There is more to a person than what their looks show. Everyone has their secrets and everyone has different sides.

"Right now, all I want to do is injure him. If I see him again, I do not think I will be able to prevent myself from getting revenge."

The healer finished wrapping the bandage around my shoulder, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Then get revenge."

* * *

I stayed with Éowyn the entire night. I occasionally fell into a semi-conscious slumber, but other than that I got no rest. The next morning, the signs of exhaustion were clear on my face. I refused food, drink, and rest. I had failed to protect Éowyn. I needed punishment.

Many people tried to convince me to eat and drink again. Aragorn was the first, and I completely ignored him. Gimli came next, but he had no idea how to convince me so he gave up quickly. Éomer came to visit his sister and said that she would not have wanted me to punish myself. I almost gave in and started eating again, but my stubbornness prevented me. The healer that had bandaged my shoulder also tried to persuade me to eat, but I refused.

Someone, I do not know who, thought that this situation was dire enough to bring the last person I wanted to see to try to get me to eat and drink again. You will never guess who that was.

"Rose, you must stop this." _His_ voice cut through the silence of the room. At first I pretended not to hear him, but he put a hand on my bandaged shoulder. He did not realize it was injured, but I certainly did. At his touch, the wound began to throb.

I stood up and walked to the opposite side of the room. "I do not have to do anything."

"Éowyn would be crying right now if she could see you."

"She cannot see me. I failed to protect her. She cannot see anyone or anything."

"Rose-"

"Just stop. You have nothing to say that I want to hear."

He lowered his beautiful face dejectedly and turned to leave. As he reached the door, I pulled out the dagger he had given me so long ago, and with my exhausted eyes and starving body, I threw it.


	25. Chapter 25

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* * *

Chapter 25

My aim was still flawless. The dagger flew right next to Legolas's head and embedded itself into the door. Legolas froze, staring at the dagger that came so close to ending his life.

"I do not need that anymore. It signifies a broken promise. Take it."

After another moment, Legolas left the room. The dagger was still embedded in the door. I decided to leave it there.

Éowyn was doing better with each passing moment. Her fever was dissipating and her wounds were healing, but she would not wake up.

As she grew stronger, I grew weaker.

Aragorn came to see her and he did something miraculous. I am not sure what he did, but Éowyn woke up. Three healers came in and offered her food and drink. She slowly consumed some bread and took small sips of the water. When the healers were satisfied, they left. That was when she saw me.

"Rose! What is wrong with you?!"

I smiled a weakly, "That is such a kind thing to say, Éowyn."

"You look starved and exhausted. Are the healers refusing to care for you?"

"No, they all gave up. I am too stubborn for them."

"Why did you do this to yourself?!"

"I failed you Éowyn. I need to punish myself. I should have stayed with you, but I left and continued fighting."

"I told you to leave me! You should feel no guilt."

"I do feel guilt. It cannot be helped."

"Rose, I am better now. Your punishment is over. Go eat all the food you can find and then get some rest. I cannot believe you did this to yourself. Go."

I nodded and slowly walked out of the room. Éowyn was in better health than I was. Every step required energy I did not have.

I had no idea where I was going and no one appeared to help me.

I remember leaning against a wall and fighting to stay conscious, but the next thing I knew, I was waking up in a comfortable bed with light shining through a window. Bread and fruit was sitting on a plain brown table. The walls were as plain and brown as the table. A single window allowed sun into the room. I almost jumped when I saw a person sitting in a chair next to the door.

"Eat. There is a war meeting soon and if you want to attend, you must get ready." Aragorn did not look happy, but that was rather normal.

I slowly got up out of the bed and walked over to the table. I was wearing a plain white nightgown and my hair was flowing freely down my back. As I began to eat a piece of bread, Aragorn spoke again, "You have acted without thought recently, and that must stop now."

"I completely disagree. Everything I have done recently has only been achieved because of thinking."

"Well then you must change your thoughts. I know you were, and probably still are, angry at Legolas. This is rightfully so, but you must take in to account that all he wanted to do was protect you."

"Why are you here instead of him then? I f he actually cared and wanted to protect me, he would be fighting for my forgiveness instead of you." Aragorn spoke no more after I said this. After I had finished my second piece of bread, he got up from the chair and left.

A plain brown dress was folded neatly next to the food on the table. It was uncomfortable, but it was better than walking around in a nightgown.

When I left the room, Gimli was walking past it.

"How ye doin lassie?"

"I have had better days. Do you know where the meeting is?"

"Aye, that's where I'm headed now."

We walked the rest of the way to the meeting side by side in silence.

Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Éomer were waiting for us. As soon as I entered the room, I felt Legolas's eyes land on me. Once Gimli and I had arrived, the meeting began.

Gandalf started by saying, "Frodo has passed beyond my sight. The darkness is deepening."

"If Sauron had the ring we would know it," was Aragorn's reply.

"It's only a matter of time. He's suffered a defeat, yes, but behind the walls of Mordor our enemy is regrouping."

"Let 'im stay there. Let him rot! Why should we care?" Gimli's voice echoed off the walls.

"Because ten thousand orcs now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom." Gandalf's reply shut Gimli up. "I've sent him to his death." Hope was so hard to come by these days, even among the wisest.

"No. There is still hope for Frodo. He needs time and safe passage across the plains of Gorgoroth. We can give him that." Aragorn had a plan. Thank goodness.

"How?" Doubt filled Gimli's voice.

"Draw out Sauron's armies, empty his lands. Then we gather our full strength at the Black Gate." Gimli began coughing. On what, I still have no idea.

"We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms." Éomer spoke for the first time.

"Not for ourselves, but we can give Frodo his chance if we keep Sauron's eye fixed upon us. Keep him blind to all else that moves."

"A diverson." I felt Legolas's eyes momentarily leave me.

"Certainty of death, small chance of success. What are we waiting for?" Sometimes, Gimli actually does know what to say.

"Sauron will suspect a trap. He will not take the bait." Gandalf was not underestimating the intelligence of the enemy.

"I think he will." Aragorn's voice was full of certainty.

"And if he does not, I would rather be trying to help than sitting here waiting." All eyes turned to me.

"Rose, you are weak. You should not accompany us." I rolled my eyes at Legolas. Not this again.

"If I am weak, then why am I standing here participating in this war meeting? None of you are responsible for me. You are all in charge of your own lives. The same applies to me." I glared at Legolas. He looked at the floor and said no more.

Aragorn spoke next, "So it is settled. We will ride for the Black Gate as soon as the army can be readied."

To battle yet again.


	26. Chapter 26

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.  
**

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Chapter 26

The ride to the next sight of battle was much shorter than the previous ones. I could still feel weakness from my punishment, but there was nothing I could do about that. Amareth was well rested and as strong as ever. We would share strength.

I rode towards the front of the army where Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Éomer stayed. I did not start this adventure with them, but I would finish it with them.

A common saying is that the journey is more important than the destination. There are exceptions, of course, and I believed that this was one of them. The journey we had all endured had been full of every emotion, but the end, the destination, determined the life of every creature in Middle Earth.

When we arrived at the Black Gate, I am going to be completely honest, it was terrifying. I knew that if I ever slept again, this gate would creep into my dreams and turn them to nightmares.

No one spoke a word. The silence made the gate seem even more menacing. After waiting for a while, nothing happened. A few whispers began to cut through the soldiers. Where were Sauron's forces?

"Where are they?" Pippin voiced everyone's thoughts.

Aragorn was the brave one to approach the gate first closely followed by Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Éomer. I stayed where I was.

"Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth! Let justice be done upon him!" Aragorn would have looked silly yelling at gates, but they began to open.

A single rider came out. Even from where I was, I could see how absolutely disgusting it was with my elf eyes. It spoke, and I could hear that as well.

"My master Sauron the Great bids thee welcome." Everyone looked at it in surprise and disgust. "Is there any in this rout with authority to treat with me?"

Gandalf was the first to come to his senses. "We do not come to treat with Sauron, faithless and accursed. Tell your master this. The armies of Mordor must disband. He is to depart these lands, never to return."

"Aha! Old Greybeard! I have a token I was bidden to show thee." It tossed a white metal shirt at Gandalf. Everyone seemed to recognize it because they all responded with despair on their faces, but I had no idea what it was.

"Frodo!" Pippin quietly exclaimed.

"Silence!"

"No!" was Merry's reaction.

"Silence!" Gandalf tried to keep the hobbits quiet with little success.

The ugly creature spoke again, "The Halfling was dear to thee I see. Know that he suffered greatly at the hands of his host. Who would've thought one so small could endure so much pain? And he did Gandalf, he did." Everyone was silent at this news, unsure of its truth. Aragorn kicked his horse into a walk towards the disgusting thing. It spoke again, "And who is this? Isildur's heir? It takes more to make a king than a broken Elvish blade." That is all that it was able to say, for Aragorn swiftly pulled out his blade and cut its head off.

"I guess that concludes negotiations." Gimli tried to lighten the mood.

"I do not believe it. I will not." Aragorn had a determined look on his face.

The gates began to open, revealing the true number of Sauron's forces.

"Pull back! Pull back!" They all began to race back to our army at Aragorn's command.

I could feel the uncertainty and fear in the air from the army of men behind me. Aragorn began to speak to the men. "Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers. I see it in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West! " They all pulled out their swords. The fear in the air was muted by the courage that Aragorn's speech created.

Sauron's army began to surround us. This would be quite a fight. Neither side would back down.

I felt Legolas pull his horse up next to me. "I need you to know that everything I did, I did to protect you."

"I did not need protecting. I do not need protecting."

"Perhaps this is a fault of mine. I feel the need to protect the ones that I love even though they may not need protecting."

"Perhaps."

"Rose, please forgive me."

"Considering that we are most likely going to die today, I do not see how it will matter."

"I will not die thinking you hate me. I will not die without telling you that I love you."

I actually looked at him when he said those three words. His eyes were pleading, sincere, and absolutely beautiful. "I forgive you." A faint smile graced his lips. "As for finally admitting to loving me, I suppose I love you too."

"You suppose?!"

I laughed and leaned over to kiss him. It was the most meaningful kiss I had ever shared with Legolas. It also was the least private kiss. Some of the soldiers cheered. Gimli, who was sitting behind Legolas, said, "Well it's about time you two!"

Gimli was right. It was time.

We were being surrounded by an army full of the foulest creatures in Middle Earth. What better time to confess your love to someone?


	27. Chapter 27

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* * *

Chapter 27

The foulest army in existence was surrounding us, and all we did was wait. We came here as bait, and bait usually does not live. Surprisingly, everyone was in fairly good spirits. We had a cause to fight and die for.

Swords were drawn and deep breaths were taken. As to why the hobbits were allowed to fight without complaint and I was not, I will never understand.

I stayed with my family at the front of the army.

"Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf. Never in all my days did I imagine dying side by side with two." Well I never thought I would even meet a dwarf, let alone become friends with one.

"What about side by side with friends?" We all smiled at these words.

"Aye, I could do that."

I grabbed Legolas's hand. I had done the exact same thing before the battle at Helm's Deep. He squeezed my hand back, just like he had done before.

"In life?" I asked while looking at him.

"Or in death."

"I am content with either." We said this line at the same time. One final kiss was shared, and then all attention was turned to the silent enemy army.

Suddenly, the air held an unnatural chill. In the distance, a burning eye could be seen. Evil was emanating from it towards us. Along with the chill came the word "Aragorn" in the creepiest and most evil voice I will ever hear.

To my horror, Aragorn took a few steps forward and lowered his sword. The power of evil was tempting, I could feel it myself. Aragorn would not dare…

He looked back at us. He was wearing an expression I could not read. He smiled and said at barely a whisper, "For Frodo."

The charge began.

We were heavily outnumbered and held inferior weapons, yet we were the first to attack.

All around me was chaos. Weapons were clashing, blood was being spilt, and screams of agony were filling the air. I fought like I was detached from my body. My plain and deadly blade slashed through monsters like they were already dust.

I had no idea how much time was passing. I was living in the present and only the present. Thinking ahead or behind would have gotten me killed. I lost count of my kills and I had no idea where anyone was.

More time passed.

More blood was spilt.

My sword grew less and less plain and more and more stained.

Evil ripped through the already tormented air. A screech I had heard before made my heart race. I glanced up for a moment and saw our doom. The Ringwraiths had joined the battle.

Another moment later, another screech cut through the air, but it was not as evil sounding as the Ringwraiths. I glanced up again to see the biggest birds I had ever seen: eagles. I went back to fighting.

An intricately braided blonde head caught my attention amongst the horror surrounding me. He was trying to push through the surrounding creatures towards something. His face was stricken with pain. I quickly found what he was looking at: a troll about to kill Aragorn.

No. I would not allow it. Not while I was still breathing and fighting would I allow that.

I raced through the crowd like a warg was chasing me. I was not too late. Aragorn was on the ground, but he was alive. I got a running start, pretended like I was Legolas and would be able to do this, and ran straight at the back of the troll. I ran up his back and clung to the armor it wore. I plunged my blade into its neck and it roared as death found it.

I collapsed next to Aragorn, weaponless, exhausted, and completely surprised I had managed to achieve that.

Aragorn stood up quickly as if nothing had happened. I stood up less easily. As I looked around, I was surprised by what I saw. The monster army was racing away from the Black Gate. They had given up fighting and just started running.

A scream was filling the air, but it was no ordinary scream. It did not sound human because of its intensity and un-humanlike sound. Everyone was looking at the burning eye, so I did too. Something important was clearly happening.

The tower the eye sat atop of began to collapse. The scream continued as the tower fell. It was a terrifying and beautiful sight.

The tower exploded. The very ground began to shake. This was not natural.

Some men began to cheer. The ground in front of us simply disappeared into itself taking with it a massive amount of foul creatures. A huge pit the size of Mordor was all that was left.

Another explosion sounded. The volcano that I later learned was named Mount Doom erupted. Cheers disappeared. I heard someone shout, "Frodo!" If anyone was on that volcano, they were surely dead now.

I made my way through the silent crowd looking for Legolas. When I did, I wrapped my arms around him. Not a word was said.

Life and death are part of the same eternal circle. On that day, much blood was shed and much was achieved.

Also, on that day, it was decided Legolas and I would be united in life, rather than death.

_War is not won by weapons._

_It is won by soldiers._

_In each soldier,_

_Is a fighting spirit._

_Each individual spirit,_

_Of each individual soldier,_

_Determines the outcome._

_War is won by spirits._

_Is war won or is peace won?_

_In the end,_

_It does not matter._

_They are one and the same._

_War is won,_

_Peace is won._

_By the spirits of soldiers._


	28. Chapter 28

**Did anyone notice that I used some of the sentences from Rose's nightmare in the last chapter?**

**Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER- Yes! They do live!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Chapter 28

On the first of May, Aragorn was crowned king of Gondor. Many people came to see the glorious event. I stood next to Legolas in the crowd. We were both wearing elvish garments. I was told to wear a dress and reluctantly obeyed, but it was surprisingly comfortable.

Gandalf had the honor of crowning Aragorn. It was a truly beautiful day.

"Now come the days of the King. May they be blessed." Aragorn turned wearing his crown and everyone began to clap.

"This day does not belong to one man, but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace." Everyone clapped and cheered again. Flower petals began to fall.

Aragorn began to sing. It added to the beauty of the scene. He also began to walk through the crowd.

"Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta."

Many people bowed as he passed. Aragorn approached Legolas and I. A truly genuine smile finally lit his face.

"Hannon le." He looked to both of us as he said this. "May you both live happily from this day forward."

Legolas slipped his hand into mine and we both moved aside to create a path for Aragorn. All the other elves parted to show the beautiful Arwen. Aragorn took the banner she was holding and kissed her. Everyone began to clap at the sight. They truly loved each other.

Aragorn and Arwen proceeded forward through the crowd together. They came across the four hobbits that had been through just as much as everyone else. They all bowed low for the king and soon-to-be queen.

"My friends, you bow to no one." Aragorn then knelt down in front of the hobbits. Arwen quickly followed. In a moment, the whole crowd was bowing to the four hobbits, the true heroes of this war.  
***

After the ceremony, there was a great feast of course. As everyone sang and danced, I slipped away to the stables. Amareth was happily eating her hay, but when she saw me, the hay was forgotten.

I laughed and handed her the apple I had been hiding. "I cannot trick you, no matter how much I may wish to." She whinnied and bobbed her head. I entered her stall and began to softly pet her neck. I hummed a tune without words to myself.

"Rose? Is that you?" I froze. Amareth noticed something was wrong and raised her head. I knew that voice.

I looked up to see a woman with long blonde hair. Her gray eyes were hopeful and watering with unshed tears. I would know her face anywhere.

"Lauralyne?"

Her unshed tears began to pour freely down her face. I felt my own tears begin to fall. I ran towards her and hugged her. I had found my sister again.

"I thought you were dead Rose!"

"At first I thought I was too."

We stood there crying and hugging each other. My sister had grown into a woman; she was no longer a girl.

"Rose? Is everything okay?" I turned to see Legolas with a worried look on his face. I smiled despite my tears.

"Legolas, this is my sister, Lauralyne. Lauralyne, this is Legolas." Legolas bowed and Lauralyne smiled respectfully at him, but then looked at me. She was requesting an explanation as to who he actually was. To be honest, I had no idea what he was to me at that moment. The Prince of Mirkwood? The elf who had changed my life forever? The love of my life? We had talked many times the past month, but nothing was ever said about our future.

"How are mother and father, Lauralyne?"

"They are both mourning your death. They rarely leave home anymore."

"I must return home with you as soon as possible. When were you planning on leaving?"

"I did not decide on a date. Home is too depressing for me, so I came to see the coronation of the new king of Gondor."

"We should go home tomorrow. I will go pack now."

Lauralyne nodded and left to do the same after one more hug from me.

Legolas had stood waiting patiently the whole conversation. "I am coming with."

"I know." I kissed him on the cheek and starting walking to my room. I had few belongings still, but I had some. I needed to say goodbye to all the people that mattered to me as well.

As I was walking back to my room, I met an elf that I had seen earlier today but had not officially met. His name was Lord Elrond.

"Mára aurë. Iston le?"

"Lau. Rose eneth nîn."

"Ah yes, Gandalf has already informed me of you. I hear you have a special ability with all that lives."

"I would not call it a special ability."

"Oh? Then what would you call it?"

I considered this for a moment. "An understanding. Everything that lives is connected in some way. I understand that and as a result I can understand what living things are saying without knowing their language."

Elrond nodded his head in agreement. "There is more to you than one would expect. You were raised by humans?"

"Yes. I was raised by one of the few human families that respect nature. Most only care to better themselves despite the price it may cost on nature."

"What Gandalf said is true. You have amazed me."

I smiled and bowed my head in embarrassment. "Forgive me, but I must leave. I am departing tomorrow to see my family for the first time in a long time."

"Of course. Calo anor na ven."

I bowed respectfully and then continued on my way to my room.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Mára aurë- hello**

**Iston le?- do I know you?**

**Lau- no**

**Rose eneth nîn- my name is Rose**

**Calo anor na ven- may the sun shine on your road**

**Okay I know this was not my best chapter, but I promise there are better chapters to come. Have faith in me here. **

**~Faervel**


	29. Chapter 29

**Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER- I know! It's so exciting!**

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**SamCarter121314- Thank you! Elrond is very awesome. And yes, she is finally going home.**

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**laura- I don't think I will. I don't really see how it would be possible for her to find out who her parents are. If you have any ideas, I welcome them.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Chapter 29

I had one small sack packed. In it I had a couple dresses as well as some men's clothing. I had my sword and some food for the journey. I made sure to pack some apples for Amareth.

There was a knock on my door. "Come in." It was Éowyn.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes. My sister is here. We are returning home tomorrow. My parents need to know I am alive." She sat down on my bed and just looked at me. "What?"

"We have not talked in forever. I feel as if we have grown apart." I sat down next to her at these words.

"I agree. Let's talk."

"I want to hear the story of how you and Legolas kissed in front of the whole army."

I laughed. "That is basically the entire story. You seem to already know it."

"Okay fine. I will tell you a story of my own. Do you know Faramir?"

"I have heard of him."

"Well while I was healing, he was healing too. We met in the House of Healing."

"Okay, and…?"

"I think I might be in love with him Rose."

I smiled. "You should tell the stories more often Éowyn." She punched my arm playfully. "I am going to have to meet this "Faramir" and threaten to kill him should he harm you."

"Oh no! You wouldn't dare!"

"I would most definitely dare and I most definitely shall. But for now I believe it is my turn to tell a story." I thought of all the recent events that occurred that Éowyn had not been present for. "I don't think I should tell a story. All the interesting ones are of battle, and those are the ones I want to forget."

"Oh Rose now you have made everything depressing. Come, let's go to the party and dance with some handsome strangers."

I laughed again. "Éowyn, you are probably only going to dance with Faramir. I will hide in the shadows and pretend to be part of a wall."

"Oh come on Rose! Let's have some fun! You are leaving tomorrow!"

I reluctantly let her pull me through the halls to the party. At the entrance, she abandoned me to find Faramir. As I had said, I began to attempt at becoming part of a wall. I thought I was doing a pretty good job until a voice whispered in my ear, "I found you." I turned to see Legolas with a smirk on his face.

"You just ruined everything Legolas. I thought I was doing a magnificent job at being invisible."

He came up really close to me and whispered in my ear again, "You could never be invisible to me, no matter how much you may wish it." A shiver may or may not have gone up my spine. "Now that I have succeeded in finding you, I believe I deserve a dance as a reward."

"Are you asking?"

"Insisting, actually." I rolled my eyes but took his offered hand nonetheless.

I may have finally come to terms with my elf abilities, but I had not yet completely mastered them. I stepped on Legolas's toes once or twice, but it did not seem to affect him at all.

* * *

I returned to my room later than I had wanted that night. It was going to be a long journey home and I had wanted to get an early start. Lauralyne would want more sleep than I would need.

I sat staring out the one window in my room for a while. The stars were unchanged and twinkling as bright as ever. Music from the party was continually trickling into my room. After all the suffering I had been through, this was paradise. I had enough food, drink, and laughter. I was not covered in dirt and leaves as I had been for a while. Everyone I loved was alive and well.

So much had changed in such a small amount of time. I would never be the girl I had been in while living in my village. I had spent my days foraging in the forest and practicing with my bow, but now I had grown far beyond that. I was more wild than ever.

I was an elf. I am an elf.

I eventually set my head on the windowsill and closed my eyes. I did not sleep, but I rested.

To this day, that night is one of my favorites. The only words to describe it are blissful and happy, something I had not felt in a while.


	30. Chapter 30

**daeb- Here it is!**

**AquaDiamond-Girl- Legolas and her sister come home with her. In this chapter, they begin the journey home, but they do not arrive home just yet.**

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**Diclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Chapter 30

As I had expected, we did not leave early the next morning. Everyone had stayed up late the night before, including Lauralyne.

I had watched the sun rise in the morning from my window. My hair was braided in one long braid down my back, as it had been every day in my village. I left my room soon after with my one bag to see if anyone else was awake.

The halls were eerily silent as I walked through them. Since no one else was awake, I decided to go take Amareth for a short ride through the city.

She was wide awake when I entered the stables. I set my bag next to her stall door. A saddle and bridle were not needed for me to mount and ride Amareth. This was the first time I had ridden her bareback, but it was by no means difficult.

As we began our stroll through the city, the sun was gradually making its way higher up in the sky. The city was not as quiet as the halls had been. Occasionally I saw a person beginning their day, but there still was not that many. The evidence of the battle that had occurred here was still visible in the destruction of some buildings. Everything and everyone was beginning to be fixed and healed. The people here had a will to survive and it was obvious that they would.

When I returned to the stables, someone else had arrived. Aragorn was brushing his horse while humming.

"How was your ride?"

"Peaceful. Something we have all missed. How was your party Aragorn?"

He smiled and looked at me. "It was wonderful, as the following years will be." I had not seen Aragorn so happy and positive in all the time I had known him.

I dismounted and Amareth walked into her stall. I began brushing her and she dozed. "Things will be better now. Instead of worry spreading like a disease, peace and happiness will."

"Indeed. Nothing so wonderful is easily won, unfortunately. Now begins the healing after the destruction."

"You will be the greatest king of Gondor that ever lived."

"And we shall all live happily ever after."

"There are worse ways for things to end." I walked over and hugged Aragorn. He was most likely very surprised, but I was hugging a friend I had been through hell with.

* * *

When everyone was finally awake and ready, the sun was beginning its decline. Lauralyne was presented a chestnut mare as a gift from Aragorn and Arwen. She was so honored that she kissed both of them on the cheek.

Gimli, Aragorn, Arwen, Éowyn, Éomer, the hobbits, Gandalf, and to my excitement, Faramir were all present to see us leave. I hugged all of them one by one. When I reached Éowyn, the tears started falling. I had no idea when I would see her again. She started crying too.

"Rose you must come back. Convince your parents to live here."

"I will try my best. I will come back as soon as I can."

She nodded and then held out something for me to take: a dagger. "I found this stuck in the door when I was healing. You may need it." The dagger Legolas had given me so long ago was once again in my possession. It had seen so many troubles that I had been through, yet it was still the same blade. I took it and hugged Éowyn again. Then, the highlight of my day, I turned to Faramir.

I whispered very quietly in his ear, though I'm sure almost everyone knew what I was saying. "Should you hurt her in anyway, you will have to deal with me. Just so you are aware, I took down a troll single handedly." I swear his face grew paler. Éowyn punched my shoulder. I just smiled at her and continued down the line of people seeing us off. I even hugged Arwen.

After all the hugs and goodbyes were given and said, we finally left. Most people would have probably left as slowly as possible, but I kicked Amareth into a gallop and Legolas and Lauralyn had no choice but to do the same. I started laughing as the wind ripped at my hair and made my eyes blur. I felt freedom I had been deprived of recently, and Amareth was happy to oblige. She whinnied as I laughed.

After we had exited the gates of Minas Tirith, I slowed Amareth to a trot, and then to a walk. Legolas and Lauralyne caught up and we talked and told stories until night fell. It was wonderful to have my sister back.

That night I was staring at the stars when Lauralyne came and lay down next to me.

"I have missed you so much Rose."

"You became a woman without my guidance. To be honest, I am surprised." She slapped my arm and I laughed. "I have missed you more. It is painful knowing that my own family believes I am dead."

"I knew you weren't dead. When they couldn't find your body, I knew you were alive. Everyone else believed that the wolves had dragged your body away or the river had dragged you to the bottom, but I knew you were alive."

"Come, let's talk of happier things. How many boys have you charmed?"

"None and I want none." I could tell she was blushing by the way she said this. "But how about you, Rose? You were always considered the stronger and more spirited. Some men said that you would never find a husband, but what they found the most appalling was that you did not want one."

"Who told you this? I do not remember anyone saying this."

"Oh, well, they said this when you weren't around. I think everyone was afraid of you." I laughed again.

"Good. If I can take down a troll I can take down all of them. They should fear me."

Lauralyne yawned. "Remember when you used to read me those stories to help me sleep?"

"Of course."

"Can you tell me a story now? A new one?"

I sighed. "A happy one?"

"Yes."

I sighed again. "I shall try. You are not allowed to make fun of it if it is horrible."

"I would never make fun of your stories."

After forming a new story in my mind, I began. "There once was a girl as free as the wind itself. She would spend her days running through streams and playing with animals in forests. She loved every living thing as dearly as the next. One day when she was jumping over a stream, she looked down and saw her reflection. She was surprised to see how differently she looked: she was no longer a girl, but a woman.

The particular stream she had been jumping over was a popular walking path to a handsome man that lived in a nearby village. One day when he was on his walk, he saw the woman. He thought she was very beautiful and wondered who she was. He began to follow her through the forest.

The woman had spent her life in the wild and could talk to the trees. They warned her of a stranger following her. She tried all she could to run away from him, but he was able to track her despite all her efforts.

To escape him, she climbed a tree and hid among its branches.

"My lady!" The man called up the tree. "You have no need to be afraid of me. All I want to know is who you are and why you live in this forest."

After a moment, the woman responded. "I have no name. I live nowhere. I belong to the wild."

"You must come from somewhere."

"I come from the wind blowing through the trees. I come from water flowing in streams. I come from the wild."

After much time, the man convinced the woman to climb down from the tree. They talked until it grew dark.

In the morning, they met at the stream again and continued to talk.

This occurred for three years. The man and the woman became the best of friends and inevitably fell in love. The woman taught the man all she knew of living creatures and the man brought her books from his village, for she greatly loved stories.

One day, the man did not return from his walk. The villagers all looked for him for days, but no sign of him was ever found.

Like the woman, he became a being of the wind blowing through the trees and from water flowing in streams.

Most importantly, the man and the woman found each other, and they lived in the wild together."

When I looked down at Lauralyne, she was fast asleep. I looked up at the stars again.

"Did you just come up with that story?" Legolas had listened to the whole thing.

"It is one of my talents. All I need is a moment to come up with a story; it is a result of reading many stories."

"It was beautiful."

"It was intended to be."

He laughed quietly, "I love you more than the wind blowing in the trees and the water flowing in streams."

I felt myself blush slightly, but thanked the world for the darkness of night. "And I love you more than the wild itself."


	31. Chapter 31

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**Disclaimer- I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Chapter 31

After three days of riding, the outlines of my village were in sight. Lauralyne grew happier the closer we got, but I grew quieter. I had not seen anyone here in months. How would they react to seeing me? What if I saw_ him? _The betrayer of my heart had not occupied my thoughts at all since the battle at Helm's Deep, but the closer we came to my village, the more thoughts of him filled my mind. At one point I had convinced myself I was in love with him, but all I wanted to do now was make him feel the pain he had caused me.

When we entered my village, I was met with an extremely surprising sight. Roses were everywhere: on doors, hanging in window, braided into horses manes or tails, and freshly planted rose bushes were in front of almost every house.

"This is all because of you, Rose. The village has missed your spirit." Lauralyne was watching my reaction intently. I was sure she could see the surprise written clearly on my face.

The same facial expression was placed on the faces of all the villagers. When they saw me, everything they had been doing ceased and they just stared, some with their mouths open. To them, I was a ghost come back from the dead.

One person was not staring at me, but walking quickly towards a house. It was _him._ Instead of facing me and apologizing for what he did to me, he was trying to escape to the safety of his house. What. A. Coward.

Unlike him, I was no coward.

"Eadric. I have not seen you in a while." He froze but did not turn around. This was the first time I had even allowed myself to think his name, let alone say it. "I believe the last time was when you left me to be eaten by wolves." The whole village was listening to me and some were giving Eadric horrified looks. Legolas made a move to dismount, but I grabbed his arm to stop him. This was my fight. "Are you so afraid of the ghosts of _our_ shared past to even look at me?" He finally turned around. His green eyes were hard and void of emotion as they stared at me. I dismounted and walked towards him.

"I have no idea what you speak of." He did have courage enough to lie to my face.

When I reached him, we stared at each other for a moment. Then I punched him in the nose.

He fell to the ground and his nose began to bleed. I waited as he slowly got back up. "Are you beginning to remember now? That night when you left me to die?"

I could see the anger in his eyes before he struck. I easily dodged his punch that was intended for my face. He tried again and missed again, but I pulled my sword from my side and held it at his throat. "I believe the village deserves to know what really happened. Who would be better to tell the story than you?"

"You are crazy. I know no story." I pushed the point of my sword against his neck.

"You will tell everyone who is listening what happened." After a moment of silence he still wasn't talking, so I drew my dagger. "If you do not tell the truth, you have no need to speak at all. I can put an end to your lies by cutting out your tongue."

"I pretended to love you." He whispered.

"Louder."

"I pretended to love you and told you to meet me at the river. Many men were tired of constantly losing to a _girl_."

"And what did you do when the wolves started howling?"

"We left you there to die. You have not won any contests since then."

I hit his head with the handle of my sword and he fell to the ground again. When I turned around, the villagers had mixed facial expressions. Some looked horrified, others looked ready to cry. Two were already crying: my mother and father. They looked like they had aged five years since the last I had seen them.

In a moment I was hugging them and crying with them. Lauralyne quickly joined and we were a family reunited and complete once again.

* * *

My many stories were recounted to my parents late into the night. Legolas helped tell many of the details I had already forgotten. We decided not to mention that our friendship had turned into something more, at least not yet.

My parents also told their stories of village life without me. My father foraged less in the forest and my mother had lost her usual cheer. Lauralyne had stayed strong, as I had taught her to, and had left the village to pursue a different life.

Now we were all back at home and wounds could finally be mended.

* * *

In the morning, I managed to wake up just as the sun was beginning to rise. I wanted to walk through my forest for the first time in months.

I left without a sound. When I entered the forest, my whole body relaxed. I took a deep breath of the unchanged air and began my hunt for herbs.

The sounds of birds and small critters hiding among plants brought a smile to my face. It all felt like a welcome present home.

I began gathering herbs and roots as I had grown up doing. This did not last long, unfortunately.

"You did not ask your parents to move to Minas Tirith last night." I almost jumped at Legolas's sudden appearance.

"A lot of things were not mentioned last night. That does not mean they will not be mentioned at all."

"I found something that might interest you while exploring your village." He handed me a poster with a notice on it: there was to be an archery contest this afternoon.

I smiled and said, "Now I know how to spend the rest of my day. I need some practice with my old bow."

"There are whispers and rumors of your return, but perhaps you should make an entrance at this archery contest to ensure everyone knows of your return."

"Will you help me?"

He smiled his beautiful smile that lit up his whole face and made his eyes shine. "Of course I will."

The first thing I did when I returned to my village was break the nose of the man who broke my heart.

The second thing I did was crash an archery contest.


	32. Chapter 32

**Mariposa of Espana- I totally agree. He got what he deserved.**

**Gwilwillith- Thank you! And Rose certainly taught him a lesson.**

**lotrjesusfreak- Thank you! It was pretty awesomesauce.**

**Xmeliisa738X—I'm glad you love this story!**

**brooklynmeyer9- You get to see how the archery contest turns out right now.**

**Poppy- Thank you so much! Your review made my day. I'm glad Rose isn't a Mary Sue too. She would have annoyed me.**

**Tardisandbows13- Yes she knows Legolas is the prince. I have a plan as to what will happen. Have faith in me. Thank you for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Chapter 32

There were around thirty participants in the archery contest. I waited in the crowd with a cloak covering my face so I would not be recognized.

One by one, they all lined up to take their shots. I had no idea what the prize was, but I was not doing this for the prize; I was doing this to show everyone that I was back and better than ever.

Eadric took his shot and it did not hit the center ring. A couple of his friends shot in the center ring, but not dead center.

When there were two participants left, I left the crowd of people to find Legolas. He was waiting for me behind a building with Amareth. The entire day yesterday had been dedicated to practicing for this moment, and with Legolas's help, I had a good chance of pulling this off.

"Thank you." I whispered to Legolas as I mounted Amareth bareback.

"Do not forget to breathe as you aim."

I nodded my head and kicked Amareth forward.

As soon as the crowd was in sight, I kicked Amareth into a gallop. She jumped over a couple of cowering people as I pulled out an arrow and aimed.

All of the shouts of surprise were muted. All the movement of the crowd was invisible. All that existed was me, my bow and arrow, and the target.

I took a deep breath, slowly let it out, and let the arrow fly.

Amareth skidded to a stop and reared, whinnying as she did. The hood covering my face had fallen back revealing my face to everyone. I looked at the target after Amareth had calmed down a little. My arrow had hit the very center of the target.

I looked for Legolas's face in the crowd and was relieved when I finally found him. He was smiling at me and nodded his head at my achievement.

The people of my village gradually began to understand what had just happened. Some, however, just kept looking back and forth between me and the target.

The man in charge of the contest finally comprehended what had happened and announced, "I believe we have a clear winner! Please come here, say your name, and accept your prize!"

I dismounted Amareth and walked toward the announcer. Amareth followed me without hesitation.

When I reached the announcer, I said in a loud, clear, confident voice that did not sound like mine at all, "I am Rose, this is Amareth, and I recently returned from a long journey that saved all of your lives."

Without a word of congratulations from the announcer, he handed me a wrapped package. Instead of opening it, I glanced at the other participants that had lost to me. Quite a few were giving me death glares.

I mounted Amareth and we walked out of the crowd to the woods. Legolas was waiting for me. As I dismounted, he pulled me to him and hugged me.

"Congratulations. You made a fool of all the contestants there."

I laughed and said, "Did you see some of their faces? They looked murderous."

"Yes I saw. Now what did you win from them?"

I slowly tore away the paper of my prize to reveal a beautiful sword. "Oh wow. It's beautiful."

Legolas took it in his hands and examined it. "It was made by elves. This is not a cheap sword. The inscription on this reads "rose thorn" in translation. How fitting."

I laughed and said, "This was intended to be my sword. Fate has spoken."

Amareth whinnied and nudged my back. She apparently wasn't getting enough attention. I began to rub her nose and she began to doze.

"Are you happy here Rose?"

I looked up to see Legolas staring intently at my face, searching for any indication of what my answer would be. I sighed and began my long response to this question, "I have missed many things and many people here. Seeing them again does give me some happiness, but my heart longs for something else now. I now know what it is like to travel on a seemingly endless journey. I now know what freedom is. Freedom is living in harmony with nature and enjoying it. That is not something one can find in a village or a city. That can only be found when one is completely lost and looking for themselves in their surroundings. I found myself, and I am not here."

"What do you want to do?"

"What I want to do is not the same as what I will do. I will spend a few more days here with my family, but I am restless here. I believe it is time for you to return to Mirkwood after all. We can travel there next."

Legolas pulled me into another hug and kissed the top of my head. "I want you to be happy."

I smiled and said, "I will be once we begin to travel again. I now despise staying in one place for long."

* * *

I managed to stay in my village for one week. In that time I was unable to convince my parents to move to Minas Tirith. Lauralyne wanted to move, but she decided to stay with our parents for a while longer.

The day I had chosen to depart for Mirkwood was full of many tears and hugs. My parents begged me not to leave, but I couldn't bring myself to stay. It was time to move on.

I mounted Amareth bareback again. I had one bag attached to my back. My quiver and bow were also strapped to my back, but my new sword was strapped at my waist. I had given my old sword to Lauralyne to protect herself wherever her travels led her. Legolas's dagger was securely hidden in one of my new leather boots.

In one moment I was waving goodbye to my family and to the villagers that came to see me off, but in the next I was racing Legolas out of my village. The last time we had raced I had let Legolas win, but now it was time to show off.

I became a feather on Amareth's back. She raced faster and faster as the buildings in my village flew past. The braid in my hair came completely undone. Amareth's light grey mane continuously hit my face, but I took no notice. I could feel it: we were flying.


	33. Chapter 33

**I am so sorry it has been so long, but I got sick over the weekend and I am still recovering. I tried writing this chapter while I was sick, but when I was rereading it, it didn't even make sense to me. I am a little better now so hopefully this chapter doesn't turn out as horrible as my first try. I'm on winter break so I should be updating regularly end of the world everyone!**

**SamCarter121314- No, she didn't tell her parents about her and Legolas because at this point she doesn't know what's going on with her and Legolas. Every elf makes some mistakes, and Thranduil is no exception. It's better to forgive and forget said old mistakes.**

**lotrjesusfreak- I love awesomesauce! And she has to be tough and cool, otherwise this story would be no fun to write.**

**soulsistersinaslan- Thank you! And yes it is Rose's turn.**

**brooklynmeyer9- The other contestants just weren't good enough. Now you get to read what happens next!**

**Gwilwillth- Thank you! And she certainly does!**

**Ivy Everscene- Thank you for your criticism!**

**Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER- There is a lot of description of Mirkwood in The Hobbit, and I kind of based my short description off of that.**

**Laura- I'm glad you found it funny! You'll see how Rose survives in the next couple chapters.**

**mooseontheloose101- Just being able to shoot a bow and arrow would be awesome to me. There are still a few more chapters, it isn't quite over yet.**

**Mariposa of Espana- I know, Freedom is something we all want.**

**Kat Khaos- Thank you! I went back and reread many of my first few chapters and I wish I could have been able to fix them a while ago, but hopefully my chapters are getting better as I keep writing. It takes experience and practice to become a better writer.**

**Guest- I agree, but that usually is never the case.**

**JasmineVsAngels- Thank you so much!**

**Tardisandbows13- Aww your review made me so happy. :) Thank you so much. I am trying to learn the language, but online dictionaries are just annoying me. Being an elf is pretty much my dream at this point.**

**Guest- Thank you! I have written a little about Rose's upbringing in previous chapters, but I might add some more in before the story ends.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings**

* * *

Chapter 33

Legolas and I only stopped one night to rest on the three day journey to the forest of Mirkwood. We told stories about ourselves the entire journey and it was quite a lot of fun.

My favorite story of Legolas was of when he first shot an arrow. He had been attempting to aim at a target, but instead he had grazed the arm of a servant waiting to retrieve his arrows as he shot them. The servant had not been greatly injured, but still to this day does not trust Legolas's arrows.

The story I believed was Legolas's favorite about me was of when I had found an injured hedgehog in my forest and had taken it home to care for it. No one knew of the creature living in my room, until one day it felt that it was well enough to take a tour of our house. My mother had screamed when she saw it, but my father began to laugh as I quickly picked it up and tried to calm my mother down. I had been instructed to put it back into the forest as soon as possible and the next day I had done so. Legolas asked me more than once to tell this story again, and I happily obliged. I had loved that hedgehog.

My initial impression of Mirkwood was that it was dark and dreary, but after a little while travelling through it, I began to see its beauty. There was not much sun, but the animals made the forest brighter. My favorite animal immediately became the deer because they were so beautiful and peaceful.

By the end of the day, we had arrived at Legolas's home.

As the gates opened and closed behind us I couldn't help feeling a little nervous. For the first time ever I was going to see how elves actually lived and behaved. What if they all hated me?

My breathing picked up when Amareth was led away along with Legolas's horse. Legolas grabbed my hand to attempt to calm me down.

"There is nothing to be afraid of."

"I never said I was afraid."

He laughed quietly and said, "You didn't have to."

I rolled my eyes and said no more. Legolas quietly lead me through the various halls of his home. It was like the forest; a beauty you had to look for.

Many servants bowed and curtsied as we passed and Legolas nodded his head to most of them, but I had no idea what to do so I just looked at the ground. It made me look vulnerable and weak, but because of my nerves I was vulnerable and weak.

We passed through two large wooden doors that led into a big room that had bookshelves on every wall. Books usually help me to calm down, but in this room was an older version of Legolas, and he prevented me from calming down.

Thranduil stood up from one of the chairs in the room and embraced Legolas. They exchanged words of greeting in elfish, but I stayed silent until Thranduil turned to me.

"Mae govannen! Legolas, will you introduce us?"

"Father, this is Rose, Rose this is my father Thranduil. She helped us destroy the ring."

"You are safe and welcome here. Where do you come from?" Thranduil's eyes were exactly the same as Legolas's and they calmed me down a little.

"I was raised in a small village by humans."

"Do you know who your true family is?"

"No, I have never tried to find them."

"Do you plan to look for them?"

I titled my head to the right, which is something I tend to do when asked a question I have a long answer to. "I do not think so. The people that raised me are my family and I love them as such. Finding my real family would make my life more confusing than it needs to be."

"You have no interest in finding them."

"I am curious, naturally, but not curious enough that I will risk destroying my life as I know it."

Thranduil nodded his head once in understanding. "There will be a feast for your return to Mirkwood tonight. How long do you plan to stay?"

Legolas answered, "We do not know, but I must speak with you now. Alone."I looked at Legolas with confusion. Upon seeing it, Legolas motioned for a silver-haired elleth dressed in a plain dress to step forward, "She will lead you to your room, Rose. I will come warn you when to get ready for the feast."

I nodded and followed the elleth out of the room and down more halls. After a few minutes of walking through various halls and past many doors, she stopped at one of the doors and opened it for me. After I entered the room she followed.

"May I ask you a question?"

I looked up at the elleth and smiled, "Of course."

"Are you and Prince Legolas betrothed?"

I was rather shocked by the question, but responded, "Not that I am aware of. Why do you ask?"

"You were holding hands while going to meet King Thranduil. You two seem very close."

"We have fought many battles together. Not all were on battlefields, but were just as painful. Experiences such as those tend to make two people very close."

The elleth said no more, but bowed her head and left.

After she was gone, I looked around the room. It had a quiet elegance that I liked. My favorite part, though, was the small bookshelf that held many things to read. I immediately began going through the scrolls and books, setting aside the ones in elfish. I could speak a little, but reading it was impossible. I finally found a book that looked interested and began to read it. It had many tales of elves in it and I was so engrossed in the book that I did not hear Legolas enter.

"I see you found the books."

I looked up at him smiling and I smiled back. It must have been rather funny to walk in and see me surrounded by scrolls and books on the floor. "I have missed reading so much."

"Well I am sorry to say this, but reading will have to wait. You must get ready for the feast. It is time you met the elves of Mirkwood."


	34. Chapter 34

**Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! I am completely recovered from my sickness at this point, which is good for you because that means I will be writing more.**

**lotrjesusfreak- Your prediction will come true about this chapter.**

**Gwilwillith- Thank you! I am feeling much better now.**

**Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER- Not so much nervous, but very overwhelmed.**

**AquaDiamond-Girl- People have been asking me whether or not Rose will ever know who her real parents are, but I had never planned on her finding out. I hope all of my readers will be able to understand as you have. I am also this way when it comes to reading. Even if I don't like the book, I must finish it.**

**Tardisandbows13- Yes she did meet him. Read and find out what happens!**

**brooklynmeyer9- You will find out what he talked about with his father in this chapter!**

**ariah23- I'm glad you love this story. I love writing it.**

**ZabuzasGirl- I updated as soon as I could.**

**JasmineVsAngels- No, we will never know who her real family is because Rose does not want to know. She does not want to change the life she knows because she does not feel it is worth it. I am much better now, but am still suffering from lack of sleep because of being sick.**

**AnonSarahXD- Thank you! The next chapter will be up faster than this one, I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Chapter 34

The feast was completely overwhelming to me. There were elves eating, drinking, dancing, and talking. None of these activities were very quiet.

To my dismay, I was wearing a dress. It was dark green and simple, but still a dress. The feasts I had attended in the past were all held indoors, but this feast was held in the forest. I immediately decided I liked the outdoor feast better; there were many places to hide.

After putting up with the insanity of the party for a while, I climbed one of the trees on the outskirts of the chaos. I had much more fun sitting in the tree watching all the elves than I had when I was trying to socialize with them. Legolas had been very dutiful with staying by my side, but he was eventually distracted and I managed to slip away.

I began to climb higher in the tree once I had had my fill of excitement from watching the elves. As I climbed higher, the leaves got thicker, and harder to maneuver around. My feet slipped more than once, but I continued upward.

I finally broke through the leafy cover over the forest and saw what I desired to see: the stars. An endless number of twinkling stars spread in all directions. I smiled because this was as close as I had ever been to them before.

I began to hum a song with no words and made myself comfortable at the top of the tree. There was a breeze that constantly made the tree sway, but I found it relaxing.

I decided to climb back down the tree when I made the mistake of looking down. I was _really_ high off of the ground. The descent was much harder than the ascent. Whenever my foot slipped I was much more aware of what the consequences could be if I had not caught myself.

I somehow made it down that tree alive, but I did not climb all the way to the ground. I was covered in scrapes and cuts and my dress was torn in many places. There was no way I would go back to the party looking like this.

"I thought I would find you here. The manner in which I have found you does not surprise me either." Of course, Legolas had found me yet again.

"Why are you not at the party enjoying yourself?"

He laughed and said, "How could I enjoy myself when you somehow managed to disappear again?"

I may or may not have blushed. "You missed me that much?"

"Of course I did. Now come down from that tree."

"Why should I?"

"You are obviously not going back to the feast. Do you not want to go read some books?" Oh he knew me so well.

I climbed down the remaining branches, but the branch closest to the ground was still rather high up. "Maybe I should just stay in this tree." I think I was beginning to develop a fear of heights, which was something I had never experienced before.

Legolas laughed his musical laugh again and walked beneath where I was sitting in the tree. "Jump."

"I do not feel very comfortable jumping from here."

"Think about those books Rose, just waiting to be read."

I glared at him and he smiled sweetly back. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and jumped off of the tree. This free-falling experience was almost as scary as riding Amareth under the oliphaunt. A scream was rising in my throat when I landed in Legolas's arms.

I kept my eyes closed and began to control my breathing. "That was very scary. No more tree climbing for me."

He laughed again and kissed my cheek, which again may or may not have caused me to blush again. "Climb all the trees you want, do not fear falling. I can be very good at catching things falling out of trees."

"You can be?!"

"If you are the one falling out of a tree, I will no doubt catch you."

Okay, I am not ashamed to admit I blushed that time.

It was at this moment that I realized Legolas still had not put me down. "I can stand on my own; you do not need to hold me anymore."

"I know." He made no motion to put me down.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Let me rephrase that. Put me down so I can go read or you risk finding out what happens to people that get in between me and my books."

He slowly put me down, but he did not let go of my hand. "There is something I must speak with you about before you can read." His face was no longer smiling, but serious.

"I am listening."

"Before we left your village, I spoke with your parents while you were out in the woods one day. I asked them how they would feel about you being married to me."

My breathing picked up very quickly in a very short amount of time. "What did they say?"

"They barely know me, but they said that if you loved me and if you were willing to marry me, they would be happy for us. They had two conditions: there must be a formal wedding, and they must be present for it." I said nothing, but my breathing was not improving. "I spoke with my father earlier today, and he has no objection. Do you love me enough to marry me? I know my own feelings and I will marry you should you agree. Will you marry me, Rose?"


	35. Chapter 35

**Just so you all know, I have done a lot of thinking and I have decided that the next chapter is going to be the last chapter. This is not the end of my fanfiction career, but just the beginning. I will be back.**

**Druid Archer- I know I know. It's a part of reading and it's a part of writing. Cliffhangers are just something everyone must live with.**

**Gwilwillith- Thank you!**

**ariah23- Thank you!**

**lotrjesusfreak- I hope it was happy crying. :) I'm glad you found it beautiful! Thanks so much!**

**AquaDiamond-Girl- If you take one of Rose's books be prepared to feel her wrath. It won't be pretty.**

**brooklynmeyer9- I know, Legolas is adorable.**

**Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER- I know I know.**

**soulsistersinaslan- I'm sorry for not having enough detail. :( Unfortunately, she is going to have to do some thinking.**

**animelover100percent- I know right!**

**XxJellaFernadesxX- Thanks for reviewing!**

**Alison-Fire- Thank you! I'm sorry about the cliffy, but it was necessary.**

**Mariposa of Espana- I did have a good Christmas, even though everyone was sick. I hope you did too!**

**Laura- She will figure it out, no worries.**

**SamCarter121314- I'm so sorry about your sickness and I hope you start getting better. I thought I made it clear that not all the books were in elvish, but I guess not. Rose said she put aside the books in elvish because she couldn't read it, which is implying that there were other books not in elvish. I saw the Hobbit and it made my Favorite Movies of All Time list. It was absolutely amazing. But no one is competition compared to Legolas.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Chapter 35

To say I was extremely surprised does not begin to describe what I was feeling. After many moments of silence, I asked if I could be given time to think. Legolas nodded, but I could see the disappointment in his eyes. We had been through a lot together and I was sure that I loved him, but I did not know if I was ready to make such a commitment. I knew the pain of heartbreak, and committing to love Legolas until the end was a rather huge step.

I shoved a chest in front of my door when I entered my room. I did not want to be disturbed because of the soul searching about to take place. I sat down in front of my bookshelf and began reading one of the books not in elvish. It was the one I had started the night before; the one that told many stories about elves of the past. I could tell it was translated because some of the sentences did not make complete sense. After reading only one tale, I set the book aside and looked out my window.

What was my answer going to be? Was I ready for a step this drastic? How would this affect my relationship with my family? And my most beloved friends? What if I did not know my own feelings and did not love him?

I needed my mother. She would know exactly what to say to me to help make this decision. Lauralyne would know what to say to help too. She was always better in these kinds of situations than I ever was. I was the one that survived using my skills with weapons, plants, and animals, but Lauralyne had skills with people.

I did not have my mother and I did not have Lauralyne. All I had were my own thoughts. I would have to make this decision on my own.

That was when I remembered. I had someone here with me: Amareth.

I stood up and quickly pushed aside the chest. I ran through the halls until I found a servant that gave me directions to the stables.

When I entered, the familiar smell of horses and hay instantly calmed me. Amareth whinnied and I opened the door to her stall and entered.

"How are the elves of Mirkwood treating you, my friend?" Amareth simply bobbed her head once and I started rubbing her neck. "I need some advice. If I marry him, a part of my freedom will be taken away. That is one of the things I have always fought for. I have always fought for myself and for my own freedom. I feel like if I marry him, some of the freedom I fought for will be lost." I sighed and saw Amareth's ears pointed in my direction, indicating she was listening to me speak. "Will I be happy? Or will I regret? There is no real way of knowing. This is a chance. This is a risk. I am not sure I have enough courage. Whenever I had to make a decision in the past, I would always return to what I knew was the safe decision. The safe decision in this case would be to say no, but maybe it is time I made a change and took the risky decision." Amareth raise her head and looked directly at my face. I stared back. In her eyes lay an emotion that has no word in this language. She was eternally bound to me, and I to her. She had given up a part of her freedom for me, and I for her. There was no regret in her eyes, no remorse. There was contentment.

That was when I realized that Amareth and I had a lot more in common than I had initially expected. We were both wild spirits and we were both tamed to a degree. But what I saw in Amareth's eyes was that the freedom of our spirits was something that could not be taken away by anyone or anything. Despite the decisions made, that freedom and wildness never changes.

"Thank you, Amareth. You have helped me reach my answer." I placed a kiss on her forehead, rubbed her neck one more time, and raced from the stables to look for Legolas.

* * *

I raced down halls having absolutely no idea where I was going. I asked many servants and maids along the way if they knew where I could find Legolas. The answer was always no, so I just kept randomly turning down halls. I had a special ability to run into Legolas, so I had hope that I would run in to him again.

I never found him in the halls, and I eventually came to a familiar door that I realized was the entrance to my own room. I reached for the doorknob, but it was already turning.

It was Legolas's turn to walk into me. He seemed preoccupied and didn't notice me until he literally walked in to me.

"Rose! My apologies. Where were you?"

"I was with Amareth. And then I was running through random halls looking for you."

He smiled slightly. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Amareth helped me with an important decision. Yes, I will marry you."

His immediate reaction was the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face. He wrapped his arms around me, but pulled back from the hug to kiss me. It was the first of many wonderful kisses.

This was the choice I made for the rest of my life. That kiss symbolized the beginning of the rest of my life.


	36. Chapter 36

**Apparently there was a lot of confusion when I said that the next chapter would be the last one because quite a few people thought that the previous chapter was the last one. THIS is the last chapter.**

**Thank you to all of my readers, especially those that followed, favorited, and/or reviewed this story. I began writing and posting this story with no expectations whatsoever, and look what it turned in to. I did not even expect 50 reviews or 20 followers, and I have 270 reviews and over 100 followers. This has truly been an amazing experience for me, and I thank you all dearly. I want to give special thanks to those who gave me some criticism to help improve my writing. It will not be forgotten and I will remember it when I start writing my next fanfiction.**

**ArwenElf16- This is the ending, not the previous chapter! I'm happy that you love my fanfiction so much! It will be a little while until my next fanfiction because I haven't decided which idea I will pick yet.**

**Narnia and Harry Potter 4 EVER- Yes, they are getting married. As scary as that is.**

**patetass- I know, it's going to be a very bitter sweet ending. I'm glad you enjoyed my story!**

**sieni1-It's not over yet! This is the last chapter.**

**lotrjesusfreak- Thank you! I will be back with more, no worries.**

**brooklynmeyer9- Yes they are, but Rose is still very scared.**

**Saren-Dipety- The picture is a wolf and there is a rose in the water. Rose was found in a river, so I thought it would be cool to have the actual flower in the water. And sadly, Amareth never does talk back.**

**Gwilwillith- Thank you!**

**Guest- Aww thank you! I'm glad you love it.**

**Kairidarkheart- Thank you!**

**lotr Guest- All things must end, even the most beautiful.**

**AquaDiamond-Girl- This is the ending, not the previous chapter! I haven't decided what my next fanfiction will be. All my focus has been directed on this story I have no idea what my next one will be yet, but I have lots of ideas.**

**Alison-Fire-The previous chapter was actually over 1,000 words. Sadly, this chapter is a little shorter. I did not want to drag it out just for more words. The amount of words means nothing. What and how they communicate is what matters.**

**Erik'sAngelOfMusic17- I'm glad it made you happy!**

**Tardisandbows13- Yes, there is a wedding.**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

Epilogue

I married Legolas in Minas Tirith a few months after he proposed. I had originally wanted a small wedding with only our closest friends and family, but when you are marrying royalty, having a small wedding is close to impossible.

I actually felt beautiful that day. I wore a deep red gown at my insistence and a crown of red and pink roses circled my head. Éowyn and Lauralyne wore pink dresses with a few roses braided into their hair. Even Amareth had some roses braided into her mane as I rode her through the streets of Minas Tirith with Éowyn and Lauralyne. The people of Minas Tirith did not know me well, but information about me had been spreading. Some called me a war hero because I had fought in the battle to save them. Others simply knew me as the elf princess. They threw flower petals as I walked by and one little girl actually handed me a white rose. I smiled at her and placed it in my hair.

When we finally reached where the ceremony would be held, I was tired of all the people. This had been one of my fears about getting married: being stared at by lots and lots of people. _If I can fight an army of orcs when we are seriously outnumbered, I can get married._ This is the thought that I kept repeating as I slowly made my way closer to Legolas.

He was absolutely beautiful, in every way.

The ceremony is simply a blur in my memory, as horrible as that may sound. After living for so long, many of my earlier memories are fading.

After we were married, Legolas and I did not have a home for many years. We travelled all over Middle Earth and visited many beautiful places. The havens of the elves will always be my favorite, especially Lothlorien. The forest was ancient and alive.

Éowyn and Faramir married and Legolas and I returned to Minas Tirith for their wedding. I made sure to repeat my threat to him, but he didn't seem to take it as seriously as the first time I had said it. Éomer became king of Rohan, but we did not attend his coronation or his wedding. Aragorn and Arwen lived happily together and had one son, but many daughters.

Lauralyne, my beloved sister, followed in my steps and went on her own adventure. She swore never to marry, as I had, but she eventually changed that when she met a man from a distant village. She had one daughter and one son. She kept a journal, which is my most loved possession. I read part of it almost every day.

At my parent's insistence, I gave them a grandchild before they died. I named her Elien, which means star. The stars had been such an important part of my journey, and now my daughter was too.

She was not my only child. I had one more daughter, my youngest, and two sons. They all inherited Legolas's blonde hair, but both of our sons have my dark eyes. Elien was my only child to receive my wild brown hair.

Arwen was our last friend to die and after she was gone, Legolas and I no longer had anything tying us to Middle Earth. Humans began to overrun all the land that had once belonged to the elves. Wilderness was being destroyed. The destruction destroyed me and Legolas had longed for the sea for years. With all of my children and some of Amareth's descendants, we sailed to the Undying Lands.

My children are now finding their own lives here and are happy. I dearly miss my family and I cry for them to this day, but I have found a new family. Even though I carry the pain of loss wherever I go, I also carry the glow of happiness.

I have now had hundreds of years to develop my skills, and even though I have always loved shooting arrows, I have also discovered writing. It is as magical as the elves themselves. Words can flow together and make beautiful masterpieces.

Now that my life is not all full of adventure, I write about them. This is my adventure, my story, now written for all to read. Everyone has a story to tell. All you need to do is begin.

* * *

All that is gold does not glitter,  
Not all those who wander are lost;  
The old that is strong does not wither,  
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,  
A light from the shadows shall spring;  
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,  
The crownless again shall be king.

~JRR Tolkien

* * *

Nature's first green is gold,  
Her hardest hue to hold.  
Her early leaf's a flower;  
But only so an hour.  
Then leaf subsides to leaf.  
So Eden sank to grief,  
So dawn goes down to day.  
Nothing gold can stay.

~Robert Frost


End file.
